Unbreakable
by Promised Flower
Summary: ...And now you run in search of the Jedi. They are all dead, save one. And one broken Jedi can not stop the darkness that is to come... This is the tale of a Jedi Exile and the Prodigal Knight. Update: BREAKABLE is up. This is the final chapter!
1. You Say Goodbye, I Say Hello

I may redo this chapter, but we'll see.

Does anyone know if the review for a chapter are deleted if you replace the chapter? PLEASE LET ME KNOW.

CHAPTER ONE

* * *

"_When you returned to us, we saw what had happened. You carry all those deaths at Malachor within you, and it has left a hole, a hunger that cannot be filled._" 

— Vrook Lamar

All that could be heard in the room was the mechanical whirring and beeping of the _Ebon Hawk_, the ship that, despite all it had been through, was still running better than most brand new crafts. _Kind of like us,_ Case thought, looking around at all of her friends. They hadn't known each other long, but they were becoming a family. And in spite of the odds, they were all still together. _No, not all. Traya's gone._

The thought was a sad one, but if she had lived… perhaps things were better as they were. She died believing that she had fulfilled her mission. _If she were still here, I couldn't trust her. No one could. Not after what she's done. But what has she done that others haven't twelve times over? _Case wondered to herself. She glanced across the room at Atton Rand, who looked deadly grave. His face was hard and shielded, and just a passing probe at his mind told her that his mental walls were up and reinforced twofold.

The moment she had docked the ship after her return from Malachor, the others had rushed out to meet Mira, Atton and her. Case had been shocked to find out that the huntress and the scoundrel had followed her to the dead planet. But if they hadn't, Case wouldn't be around to be thankful. Rather than gather in one of their rooms on the Telos station, the entire group chose to gather on the ship that had flown them to every side of the galaxy and back. It was, perhaps, the last time they would be there together.

"So what now?" Atton asked, redirecting his gaze to include the rest of the ship members. Seven pairs of eyes looked back at him, including HK and T3, the droids. Bao-Dur, Brianna, Mira, Mical (the Disciple), Visas, and Mandalore didn't say a word. Atton stared at all of them in turn until he finally spoke again.

"I think we all know the basics of what's going to happen," he began slowly. There was little or no emotion in his voice. Slowly, he tilted his head up, looking straight at Case. Their eyes locked, neither speaking, aloud or otherwise. "Case is going to leave for the Unknown Regions. The question is if any of us are going with you," Atton said, his eyes never once leaving Case's face.

"Don't you think she's been through enough for today?" came Mical's question. Case could hear the frustration in his voice. She was surprised. He hardly ever got upset.

"I'm not sure what I think right now, Mical, but I'll tell you what I know," Atton said, his voice deadly calm, "I know that we learned things that we have to use. If we don't do something, we might as well kill the galaxy – hell, the universe – ourselves. I know that Case is going to follow Revan, whether she tells us about it or not, and I know that no matter what she says, I'm doing the same thing."

Silence answered Atton's speech. Case looked at the ground, feeling the determination coming in waves from Atton's form.

"Has she agreed to that?" Mical asked sharply, "She is our leader, and I trust her judgment. You should too, Atton."

Atton glanced from Case to Mical and back. Case simply lowered her eyes again. With a small shake of his head, Atton folded his arms and leaned back against the metal wall of the main room. "Take it away, then, leader," he said, his eyes emotionless.

"I don't know what to tell you all. I'm going. I have to. I don't know if I'm taking anyone, I just can't think right now…" Case struggled to say.

"Just rest, General," Bao-Dur interrupted, "You've got time before you have to make any decisions. I don't think the Sith are going to take over the galaxy in the next couple weeks."

Case nodded tiredly. "Thanks," she said quietly. What she did not say aloud was that she wasn't going to wait a couple weeks to leave. She was leaving the next day. After several awkward goodnights, Case found herself trudging to the comfortable apartment room that Carth Onasi had given to her to use.

Lowing herself carefully onto her bed so as to avoid hitting several deep bruises and cuts that were still healing, Case closed her eyes and replayed every moment she could from Malachor, trying to find something that would give her a direction to follow on the morrow. She couldn't remember anything of help. Only the pain she'd felt, the betrayal, and the sorrow. Kreia told Case that she could take no one she loved with her. She loved her entire crew, even the droids. Well, maybe not HK, but she was definitely attached to T3.

She briefly wondered if how she was feeling was how Revan felt after the Star Forge. Likelihood was that she would never see any of her friends again. She would die defending the galaxy, far away from all she loved. But that was the life she had chosen the moment her connection to the Force had been reopened and she had not cut it off again. Could she have done that, cut it off twice? Case didn't know.

Could Revan do that? Cut herself or others off from their Force connections? Revan. She must have felt a million times worse than Case when she realized that it was her fault the galaxy was dying. But then, Darth Revan had tried to _save_ known space from obliteration. But from what exactly? No one but Revan, if even she, could answer that.

Suddenly the room darkened and faded away, replaced by the sight of a slightly foggy image. _It's a vision, or perhaps a dream if I'm asleep, _Case realized.

_A dark haired woman crept slowly along a black metal wall. She was hunting her predator. The woman could not have been over 5' 4", and yet the expression on her face would have sent opponents twice her size running for cover. She was on a mission, and anything in her way would be cut down._

_Suddenly Case realized who the woman was._

"_Revan," a whispery voice called to the woman, "Come to me. Embrace what you know is true." The sound of the voice was slimy and dead to the Exile's ears, it's very tone so oiled and greased that persuasion wasn't a strong enough word to describe its effect on one's mind._

"_Get out of my head before my lightsaber is halfway down your esophagus," Revan murmured calmly._

"_You don't belong to them, Revan. You're home is here, your heart belongs with us. You know this."_

"_I know that a Jedi's life is sacrifice, and I know yours will be too if you keep talking to me," Revan whispered, an edge creeping into her voice. "And whether or not I am a Jedi, I _will_ be a sacrifice if such a thing is required."_

_"Ah. The monotonous motto of the Jedi. And what about the younger one? The broken one? She was saved because of us."_

_"She was saved because she was afraid."_

_"Fear leads to anger, anger to hate, hate leads to the dark side. She is only steps away."_

_"Drop dead, if you can," Revan snapped.  
_

"_You'll kill them if you get to close, Revan. You are a black hole: you use what you can of their lives and then dispose of them. You say you love them? If I was capable of it, I would laugh at that farce. And do you think they love you? What you believe is their love and loyalty for you is nothing more than a Force Bond that they could not avoid. _

"_They are _tied_ to you, Revan, with figurative neural restraining collars, and the control is in your hand. They would do _whatever_ you asked of them. 'Kill that family over there? As you wish, Revan.' 'Rob that child blind and then feed his body to a cannok? My pleasure, Revan.' You cannot deny that they would do this… Even when they know it is wrong. They will follow you wherever you lead them, whether it is into darkness or light. So tell me Revan, do your slaves love their master?"_

Case's eye snapped open, pulling her out of the dream. For it had been a dream: she was waking up. For the first time in her life, Case had trouble shaking the sleepiness off of her. It took her a full ten seconds to have enough energy to sit up in bed! Suddenly she became aware of a presence close to her right. Sitting up slowly, she turned to face her visitor.

"Hey. For a while there I thought you might not wake up."

"Atton," Case said flatly.

The dark haired man grunted. "Nice to see you too," Atton said with a touch of sarcasm in his voice.

She hadn't meant to sound that way, but it seemed she was not in complete control of herself yet. If she was to follow Revan into unknown space, she had to get used to snapping into consciousness.

"Do you need something?" Case asked, finally waking up fully. She must've been more worn out from Malachor than she had first thought. And yet she wouldn't have time to rest.

"Yeah, I just came by to make sure you said goodbye," Atton said, watching her.

Case started visibly. How had he…? It seemed their master, apprentice bond was becoming stronger. And he knew her so well by now…

"When did you…?"

"Find out that you were planning on leaving this morning? The minute we got back from that fracking planet," Atton cut in.

"I didn't even know I wanted to leave so early in the day," Case teased lightly.

Atton didn't smile.

Case sighed, lowering her head onto her hands, tangling her fingers in her honey colored hair. "Atton, I can't take anyone. Not even you," she said softly.

"Look, Case, you need to take someone with you," Atton said.

She knew that. "No," was what she said aloud, trying to sound defiant, "You aren't coming."

"Did I bring my name up? I haven't said anything about going _with_ you," Atton growled. He closed his eyes for a moment, and Case felt him trying to control his frustration and worry. He was worried about her. But what was that third feeling? Determination? He was going to fight her decision, it seemed. Could she resist him? For his sake, she had to.

"I can't let any of you die," Case whispered.

Atton was silent for a moment, struggling with something internally. "Case," he began, his voice softer than she had ever heard it before, "Even if you changed your mind, I'd tell you no. I couldn't go with you if I wanted to."

Case blinked. "Huh?" Case asked, dumbfounded. Atton looked so… what? He was changing, her scoundrel. But into what, she didn't know. "I don't understand," she said.

"Yeah, well that makes two of us," Atton grunted, running a hand through his unruly hair. "I'm leaving in twenty minutes, actually. Same as you: I can't take anyone else."

"Twenty minutes! Atton, where are you going?" Case asked, alarmed at his demeanor. He was riled up, but fighting it down. He was leaving. Case felt her chest tighten painfully.

"Where are _you_ going?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I…I'm not sure yet. All I know is what I'm going to work for."

"So do I," he said, then when Case opened her mouth, "I won't tell you where I'm going. I have some idea, but not the whole picture," Atton said, a kind of weary resignation offset by a spark of determination emanating from him.

Case felt her throat constrict. So this was it, the parting of ways. She had to ask, even though she knew what the answer would be. "We'll see each other again, right?" she attempted to add a note of humor to her words, but failed miserably.

"Yeah. Just as soon as I handle this, I'm heading for the Unknown Regions myself," Atton replied, "I promise I'll find you, damn whether you want to be found or not."

Case started. That was _not_ what she had expected. She bit her bottom lip, another one of her habits. "Atton… I don't want you to walk into danger because of me," Case said seriously. The thought of something happening to him was unbearable.

"I think it's my choice what kind of danger I walk into," Atton interrupted her, raising an eyebrow in an almost cocky way.

Frack. He was sensing her thoughts again. And now he knew she was concerned about him. Great, like his ego could survive getting any bigger.

"I did survive my entire life without you," he said, a trace of his trademark smirk lurking around the corners of his mouth.

"So did I, I'll have you know," Case retorted.

"And you can't fight hand-to-hand to save your life," Atton pointed out.

"Rub it in, hotshot, rub it in," Case muttered, trying to keep the numb feeling of shock around her while she could. He was _leaving_.

"Goodbye, Case," Atton said, standing up, turning away from her.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Case blurted out, a sense of panic clawing its way up her throat.

Atton hesitated, his back still to her, right hand resting on the doorframe as the metal door slid back into the wall.

Case scrambled for something to say to him. She hadn't known what she was going to do when she called out to him, only knew that she was afraid to lose him. Case remembered last year when she thought he might leave the crew, and she had somehow convinced him to stay. Now there was nothing she could do.

As Case remained silent, Atton spoke. "I can't wait around here for you to come back, Case. I've seen the Admiral and what that did to him when Revan left. Sure, he's kept on living, but that's because he's strong. I'm not that strong yet, Case. The only way for me to get through this is to leave."

Flinging herself off the bunk to reach Atton, Case put a hand on his shoulder and felt him tense up. "Just promise me you'll come back," she said, trying to keep her voice steady, and not failing completely at it.

"I can't."

Case felt her heart threaten to break. Gathering herself, she nodded slowly, withdrawing her hand from his shoulder. "I…understand, Atton," she said softly. _No I don't understand! I don't want to understand! Just…stay here where you'll be safe! _ Case called out inside her head, knowing that this time Atton wouldn't hear her. He was blocking their bond. She didn't know if she was coming back either. How could she promise something she didn't think would happen?

Suddenly it dawned on her: _Atton_ wasn't expecting to live long enough to return. The thought sent a wave of fear coursing through her body.

"I think you should take the astromech and the assassin droid," Atton said practically, out of the blue.

"Yes, I think I will," Case replied, keeping her voice level.

"I'll promise something else, though," Atton began, feeling Case's weary gaze on his back. "You'll see me again. Revan's going to need more help with that Sith spawn out there, and I'm in. Shut up, you're not going to talk me out of it."

"I wasn't going to try," Case told him, slightly annoyed, "I just wanted to give you something."

Atton finally turned around, his brown eyes meeting Case's gray ones. "What's that?" he asked her, never looking away.

"It's something I've had for longer than I'll ever remember. I've only got one, so take it, and don't forget me," Case said quietly.

As Atton began to wonder what in the galaxy she was going to give him, Case stepped closer, put both hands on his shoulders, and rose onto her toes. The next thing Atton knew, her usually stubborn, incredibly soft mouth was on his, kissing him in a way that made his knees threaten to give out beneath him. Before he could even react, Case had backed away and was putting on a smile.

"Go get 'em, hotshot," she said, her voice uneven.

She'd wanted to give him a kiss? She didn't only have one of those. Confused, but not finding enough words to ask a question. There was only room for one thought in his mind, and that was that he and Case had kissed. But she had been the one to kiss him, and eventually he would return the favor, but not right then. He had to leave before he wasn't able to go.

Without another word, Atton Rand walked away from the Jedi Exile, not to see her again for nine standard Galactic months.

"It never fails," Revan muttered darkly. She was sitting with her back against the cold stone of an abandoned temple of sorts. Her long black hair fell loosely down to her elbows, its dark masses hanging in oddly bent curls and waves. Unusually green eyes glared at the gray floor as if it was responsible for her current imprisonment. Actually, it was. The stupid stuff was made of Force resistant rock.

The walls were made of the same material, but it wouldn't have helped her to have been able to chop through them; they led in a mess of lethal traps and tricks, some including acid. And snakes. She hated snakes. However, had the floor been more cooperative, Revan could've dropped down to the first floor and escaped.

"But why should things start going my way now? Never did before," Revan asked herself reasonably. Or maybe it wasn't so reasonable. She didn't know.

Finally, she lifted herself off the ground with a Force Push and landed on her feet. "Alright, the time for wallowing is over. Now comes the part where I exhaust every option but the right one," Revan told herself, going through the familiar plan. Talking to her self had become a habit after so long without human contact. She had to do something to keep from cracking completely.

First she tied her hair into a messy knot to keep it away from her face and arms while she fought (she didn't pretend to have the option of escaping without fighting something). As soon as that very important step was accomplished, Revan surveyed her now familiar surroundings.

Three walls, one floor, one ceiling, all made of Force resistant rock. One trap door that had melted into the stupid floor, one creepy mirror thing, and one disgruntled Jedi with a lightsaber and a fork. The fork she had found on her way in. Revan hated to admit it to herself, but the reason she took it was because it reflected marvelously, almost like water. She could just hear what Jolee would've said to her, "You kids and your damn fascination with anything shiny. That reminds me of a story…"

Revan smiled at the thought of her friend. She missed him and the other so much it hurt. But that would have to wait. Taking a quick breath, Revan marched over to the mirror imbedded in the wall. It was the strangest thing. She wasn't even sure it was a mirror. It looked like a window that showed another room just like the one she was in.

The only difference was that sometimes it showed someone else in the room other than her. How did she know it was the same room? It had the exact same scratches on the walls as hers did, in the exact same places. She looked into the glass-like matter and saw her own pale face and green eyes in the reflection. Then she blinked and the other figure was there again.

Looked like it was a man, with the way the figure stood. He was tall, probably around 6' 2", with dark hair that looked like it hadn't been brushed in a while. Revan could relate.

"Hello?" she said tentatively. The figure didn't move. Revan made sure not to blink as she repeated the word louder.

"Who's there?" the man asked sharply, whirling around to face his own window/mirror. He strolled over, glaring at the thing suspiciously. He had some facial hair, probably because he hadn't had time to shave, and his eyes were a dark brown color. He wasn't all that handsome, but he wasn't homely, either.

"Who are you?" Revan asked loudly.

"What? What trick is this?" the man demanded, staring incredulously at his mirror.

"I haven't got the faintest idea what the frack this thing is, but I'm trapped and I need help," Revan responded, still keeping her voice raised. She fought off the urge to blink, fearing the window would return to a mirror.

The man regarded her suspiciously. "And what is your name?" he asked, surprisingly calm for seeing a strange woman in his cell mirror.

"Shayla," Revan said, choosing to give the false name the Council had given her.

"So, Shayla," he started slowly, "Is there a reason you're in that mirror?"

"I… was pursuing a threat here, and I was… captured, I suppose," Revan said with a shrug. It wasn't like it was a new story for her.

"You suppose? As in, you're not completely sure that's what happened?"

Revan glared daggers at him. She wasn't in the mood.

"Sorry, just thought… never mind."

"So who are you, then?"

"Thayne Korr," he replied.

"Tell me how you ended up in your cell, Thayne," Revan said conversationally.

"I ran in the building looking for cover from the legrins…"

"The what?"

"The huge, spiny, slithering creatures that are even now waiting for us to emerge from this temple," Thayne illuminated. He blinked. "You mean you didn't encounter any?"

"Well, I might have. You see I usually forget when I'm in danger of being eaten, so I may not remember," Revan said sweetly.

"If you can put your sarcasm aside for a moment, let's try to escape, shall we?" Thayne replied just as nicely.

"Fine. We're on the second floor, so…"

"First."

"What?"

"We're on the first floor," Thayne said.

"No, I climbed a very _long_ set of stairs. We're on the second," Revan countered.

"And I'm telling you that all I did was leap through the door and I was caught."

"…Okay. Fine. That just makes it easier for you, then. We're both in triangular rooms with strange windows that look into each other's cells on different floors. Now that that's all cleared up, I think you should know that I don't have any means of escape. This mirror thing won't break, and the walls and floor are made out of…" Revan paused. She wasn't sure if she wanted Thayne to know about her profession just yet. "They're made of really, uh, hard stuff, rock, things," she eventually finished, earning another look from Thayne.

"Right… Do you have a plan for getting past the hard rock?"

Revan shrugged, ignoring his sarcasm. "I was hoping you did, Korr."

"Ah. So we're on a last name basis," Thayne said.

"Well, if that bothers you, prove you're useful and maybe I'll consider using your first name," Revan shot back, "but at the moment, I'm not getting any incentive."

"Claws are out, huh, Shay?"

"Don't call me that," Revan said sharply. That was what Carth had called her before…Revan. She had asked him to accept her real name, as she was resigned to doing.

"Sorry," Thayne said, putting his hands up in surrender. The edge on her voice had been sharper than the edge of a vibroblade. He wondered at her reaction, but didn't have long to dwell on it.

"So, escape plan. Any thoughts?" Revan refocused.

Thayne actually grinned. "Yeah, I've got a couple."

* * *

This story is a bit of an experiment for me, so we'll see how it goes. I think I'm going to make Atton a bit more mature than he is in the beginning of the game, especially after his ordeal on Duxn (that's what happened in my game). 

As usual, I'm not entirely sure where I'm going to go with this, but I have the basic idea. If you have any suggestions, corrections, or comments, don't hesitate to let me know. And if you want to flame, keep it professional.

Thanks!


	2. I Came to This Strange World

Second chapter up. Not very long. Hope you like it. Review.

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CHAPTER TWO

Revan watched as Thayne Korr bent over, gasping for breath. After escaping the temple by an unlikely makeshift trapdoor, they had run the entire way up the short mountain to reach the edge of Slane City. Revan had never been there, but Thayne had lived there for a few weeks.

"It's relatively safe, Shayla," Thayne had assured her before they'd escaped their cages.

Revan expected heavy blaster fire and a few ferocious, trained beasts on their arrival.

At the moment they were resting about a mile away from the city limit, trying to regain some energy and make sure they weren't followed by anyone or anything. Both of them were wary of trackers for different reasons.

"You," Thayne said between gasps, "Are the craziest…(gasp)… woman…(heavy breathing)… I have ever met, and between you…and me, that's something."

"Thank you, Thayne. You have an odd smell," Revan replied absently, tying her blaster holster to her leg.

Finally recovering his breath, the dark haired man stood to his full height and looked down at the short woman in front of him. It was true: he had never met anyone like her. She was smart, resourceful, psychotic, brave, athletic, psychotic, and beautiful. Had he mentioned psychotic?

"How did you know the high pitched sound of the blaster malfunctioning would stun the creatures?" Thayne asked, looking on as she finished tying her blaster down.

"Their ears," Revan said, looking up, "Most creatures with ears like that have ultra-sensitive hearing. I just happened to be right about it… in this case."

"Have you ever been wrong?"

Revan gave a slightly cocky, toothy grin. "Never," she replied.

Thayne gave her a look that said he didn't believe her. "Yeah, sure; if I ever meet one of your friends, we'll see how perfect you are. I'm sure they'd have a different story."

"Depends on which one you talk to. I'm sure _your_ friends have nothing but good things to say about you, too," Revan answered.

"I don't have friends," Thayne replied with smile before striding off toward the city.

Revan watched for a few moments as Thayne made his way around the various sized rocks of the area, ascending the slope toward Slane City. Finally, mumbling something nearly incomprehensible about men and their ridiculously stubborn natures, Revan followed her new companion to the sky high buildings of their destination.

XXXXXXXXX

"So," Revan began conversationally to Thayne, "If this is relatively safe, what is your version of danger?"

"Now is not the time for sarcasm," Thayne shot back irritably.

"I'm sorry. I'll just bring it up again when we're not in a den of killers, then," Revan replied agreeably.

"Your criticism is not appreciated."

"Neither is the blaster on my forehead," Revan returned.

"Shut up," the mercenary growled at Revan, annoyed at his captives' talk.

"Thank you," Thayne said, giving his captor grateful look. Then, to Revan, "He doesn't want to listen to you either, Shay."

"I told you not to call me that."

"Both of you shut the frack up!" the merc barked, "If you so much as…" A sudden blaster fire took the scoundrel off guard, and a sharp pain to his chest sent his thought spinning. He looked down to see the black burn mark seared into his left side. He looked up in shock, his eyes widening with pain. "You…" he began. He choked and fell to the ground as darkness swallowed him.

"Nice shot," Thayne commented, looking over at Revan. He was surprised to see that she was staring very seriously at the corpse.

"He didn't need to be killed," she said softly.

"Then why did you kill him?" Thayne asked quizzically.

Revan turned her fierce green eyes on him, their depths clouded with confusion. Suddenly they cleared with shocked realization, and she quickly looked away. "We should get going," was all she said before continuing their trek through the lower region of Slace.

Two hours later, Revan and Thayne were still walking. "We should reach the transport station soon," Thayne said, deciding it was best if he let the previous subject drop.

"That's what you said two hours ago."

"No, I said we were getting closer."

"Another one of your infallible facts, I take it?"

"There's that sarcasm again."

Revan chose to ignore his comment, choosing instead to focus on where she was stepping, dodging a scattering of rotting debris that littered the street. There were several moments of silence, during which the former Sith lord kept on the lookout for suspiciously slimy, moving things.

"So, where did you grow up?" Thayne asked unexpectedly of Revan just as her boot was attacked by a spotted blue slug creature. Kicking the creepy-crawly off of her shoe, Revan continued walking and didn't answer.

"How about I guess then?" Thayne asked, answered once again by silence.

"How about we find a transport?" Revan returned, pointing ahead to a shabby building with faded letters that told them they had arrived at their destination. Finally, they would be able to leave the accursed planet.

Fifteen minutes later…

"Two-thousand credits?!" Revan exclaimed in shock, failing to startle the clerk at the desk. The green twi'lek looked at the shouting woman in a bored manner.

"Each," the twi'lek said helpfully.

"That's ridiculous," Revan scoffed.

"That's the price," the clerk drawled, unaffected by the dark-haired woman's indignant glare.

Revan was sorely tempted to change the twi'lek's mind by way of the Force, but the presence of Thayne thwarted any opportunity she had for that. She knew he wouldn't leave her alone at the transport station (due to lack of trust of her) so that she could use Force Persuade. Perhaps plain old persuasion would work.

"Two-thousand each is absurd. I think five-hundred for the two of us is much more reasonable. After all, there will be many more customers to make up the difference, and some of them can be tricked into paying more than the demanded fare," Revan reasoned quickly, her voice smooth as Deralian honey.

The twi'lek showed an emotion for the first time that evening, looking unsure of himself. "Yeah, I guess you're right," he said eventually, "But I can't do five-hundred. The lowest I can go is one-thousand. It costs half that much just to get a ship off the ground."

"Are you sure you can't go lower?" Revan asked.

"Sorry," the clerk said, shrugging.

"That'll work. We'll be back in five hours. Have a transport ready," Revan agreed, heading off toward the main city sector, Thayne following quickly.

"What the frack was that?" he demanded, catching up to the rapidly moving Revan.

"It's called persuasion, genius."

"That was some pretty fracking powerful persuasion," Thayne said incredulously.

"Not in particular. That twi'lek's mind was about as strong as Corellian jelly," Revan said dismissively.

"Sure," Thayne said dubiously, but let the subject drop, "So tell me, oh wise and knowing persuader of beings, how are we going to come up with a thousand credits in five hours?"

"Give me some directions and I'll show you."

XXXXXXXXX

"Name?" the rusty protocol droid asked in a grating metallic voice, looking at the tall, dark haired man in front of him with little interest. He was like many others who came through the area; the man was a bit on the scruffy side, with an old leather jacket on his shoulders along with a worn pack holding very few possessions. There was, however, something about him that marked him as different that that droid could not pick up on. He had a glow. It was hidden, but there, just underneath the surface of his mask. Someone else noticed.

"Ramos Del," the traveler said in a low, even voice.

"Identification, please," the droid ground out.

Atton looked down at the walking heap of junk and grimaced. He hated droids. He hated them a lot. This sorry excuse for scrap metal was a very outdated model, probably as old as 200 years old, maybe more, looking at that tremor. Trying not to wince as the droid's 'hand' knocked into his fingers as it reached to take his data pad, Atton backed up so that he wouldn't have to be too near the thing.

The droid was, in fact, 229 years old in a galactic standard month, which, for his model, made him very outdated. "He" was an "it" technically, but his current owner had tweaked his programming to include more characteristics of a male creature. He wasn't sure what he thought about it, but felt content in the knowledge that Master knew best.

Had he been intelligent enough to look at where he was working, the droid may have had second 'thoughts' about that. He was employed at one of the seeder docks on Nar Shadaa, a place that had rusty metal walls, severely damaged floors and door, and a rather unpleasant odor. The color gray was predominant, as was the atmosphere of cutthroats. Luckily, the droid and his master would be leaving very soon.

"Enjoy your ride, sir," the droid's inadequate voice simulator whined, handing the data pad back to the owner.

With a grunt, Atton snatched the pad back and stuffed it inside his pack, getting as far away from the droid as fast as he could; it could explode at any moment by the look of its processor that was IN THE OPEN. Bad design, if you asked him. Well, he'd get over it on the very, very long ride to Tatooine. His mother was there, and it was time he saw her again. Just recently he'd acquired the information concerning her whereabouts, and he knew that it was one of the things he had to do to hold on to his newfound future. Atton frowned a bit to himself as he trudged toward the unsteady looking ship. He hoped the guy flying the thing was an ace pilot; otherwise he wouldn't get past the planet's atmosphere.

Suddenly someone collided with his left side, and as the black-jacketed someone pushed by, Atton felt his blaster being slipped out of its holster. Snapping his arm around, Atton grabbed at the thief, but was left confused as they slipped out of his grasp with an impossible dodge behind him. It was as if the brat expected him to do that. The next thing Atton knew, the hard shaft of his own blaster was pressed to the back of his head.

"Don't turn around," an unexpectedly high voice said. The kid couldn't have been over fifteen.

"If you move I'll fire," Atton's attacker threatened, the blaster getting closer to his head.

Atton almost rolled his eyes. Amateur. In a single fluid movement, he had ducked and turned before his assailant could fire a single shot. In a millisecond the blaster was back in his possession, now aimed at the thief. "Nice try, kid," Atton growled, glaring at the attacker. His eyebrows raised in slight surprise. Before him stood a girl of about nineteen years; her bright blonde hair was cropped just below her ears in shaggy cut, and her dark blue eyes were wide with shock. The shock quickly changed into severe anger.

"Go ahead and shoot me," the child growled in voice low for a girl. "No one here would care." It was true: even when she had drawn the weapon no one had glanced at them more than once.

Atton frowned at her. "Don't waste my time, kid," he scoffed, putting the blaster back into its holster.

"What, you develop morals over the last ten years, cajo?" she snapped. Whatever the word 'cajo' meant, Atton was sure it wasn't flattering.

"Look, if you want something, ask. If you don't, get out of my way. I have places to be," Atton said impatiently. Internally he was curious as to what she meant by that statement. Ten years ago he had been in Revan's service. The girl would've only been about nine.

Crossing her arms, the girl spoke, her voice dripping with hatred and sarcasm, "I don't know. Would you want something if I had killed your sister?"

Atton started. "Huh?" he asked.

"You heard me. You killed my sister," the girl hissed, uncrossing her arms to clench her fists.

"I don't doubt it," Atton snapped back.

"Her name was Arya. Ring any bells, murderer?"

"'Fraid not, kid. Now, if you'll move…"

"She helped you open this," the girl said, startling Atton as she stepped closer and rested her fingers on his forehead. Her eyes bore into his, searching for the truth. "She thought you were worth it." Pain emanated from every syllable the girl spoke.

Images flooded, unbidden, into Atton's mind. A time not so long ago, and yet a different reality to him. Pain, pleasure, fear, hatred, screams, laughter, and death. He knew what the girl meant: Atton knew who she was speaking of.

Suddenly the girl snarled and pulled back from him. "And you let her get to you, didn't you? Pathetic Blue-sider," she said, spitting the last words like they were a curse. Without another word she turned and began striding away from him.

Something tugged at Atton from the inside. It told him to follow her. Cursing under his breath, Atton began weaving his way through the crowd, careful not to let the girl know she was being followed, but keeping close enough to avoid losing her.

XXXXXXXXXX

Space. It was what Case had been staring at for the past week or so. Blackness, pinpoints of light floating through the expanse, and the horribly bright blue vortex of the hyperspace tunnel. If she lived through the next few years, there would be very few things that would be able to induce her to remain in the cockpit for any length of time.

Pazaak was a nice game, and Case was good at it, but after six-hundred twenty-eight games with HK and T3, just the sight of the cards was enough to make her want to go for her vibroknife. Thus it was with many other of her pastimes, such as singing. Case discovered that she couldn't sing at all, and that it sounded more like the dying call of a katarn or a hydro-spanner being ground up in the engine rather than a bunch of notes put together. Nevertheless, she sang.

"I went to the market the uh-other day, and I told my mother that I would not stay. She picked up her blaster and shot at my foot, I ran out the door and my life went ka-put," Case sang, improvising for an old Deralian lullaby. She'd started noticing recently that most bedtime songs were not conducive for children. Luckily, most small kids didn't understand them.

"My ka-tarn is a happy one, his tail it wags all day, but when he sees the little tak his instincts do take sway. He takes off into the trees, and chases the primate down. I'm sad to see the little thing go head first into the ground." Making a mental note to learn some happier songs, Case finished off another stanza.

Case sat silent for a moment, unable to recall the next verse of the song. Maybe she should get a dejarek board. She wasn't so good at that game, but how hard could it be to beat a couple of droids? She was a genius with pazaak, but anything else, such as dejarek or swoop racing were not her areas of skill. She would just have to sit and not be entertained.

Finally boredom resettled over her and she reached for her pazaak deck, mentally retracting her oath to kill it the next time she saw it. Glancing at the control panel in front of her, she asserted that the ship was running smoothly, and after a quick look at the familiar blue tunnel outside of the _Hawk_, Case set a cup right-side up, scooted back in her chair, and began throwing. One in. Two in. Three, four, five…………294, 295, 296, 297.

"I need something to do," Case groaned, gathering up her cards. She had already meditated three times that day, as well as having completed six training exercises. Or had that been yesterday? She wasn't always so sure. Sometimes she wondered if the ship's calendar was right. It was so difficult to measure time in open space. With a sigh she dropped her head into her now card-free hands.

_Beep boop, beep boop, beep boop._ Case glanced up at the consul to see her destination of the planet Ziost. A cold coil of apprehension curled in her belly as she drew closer to the planet. The dark side was prevalent there, enveloping the dark world in a curtain that hid all, if any, life signs from Case.

"T3," Case said into the comm system, "Prepare for landing procedures…" Case cut herself off as she had a strong feeling that going to the planet would be the end of her mission.

It was the wrong time.

The astromech droid beeped his affirmation back to Case, asking if she wanted to land out of the way, or in a clearing in the rock. Hitting the comm button quickly, Case said, "Negative, T3. We're not landing here. I'm setting a course for… Weytta." The last word forced itself out of her mouth, surprising even the Jedi Exile. The small droid beeped, sounding relieved. Case couldn't agree more.

"Suggestion: Master, I believe it would be wiser to attack the Sith before they attack us," HK-47 said over the com system.

"Not yet," Case said, beginning to feel certain of herself. "That place will be the beginning of the end. Now is just the beginning."

* * *

I don't know if I'll continue this story. I might, since it is one of my few that I actually have an idea for. I know where I'm going for the most part, as I may have mentioned. If you want me to continue, let me know. If it isn't a big deal, I'll probably put the story on hold for a while. 

I'm thinking about doing a spin-off of Sleeping Beauty. Could be interesting.

Until later!

Edit:

So sorry about the lack of breaks in this chapter before. I tried to fix it, and I hope it worked without deleting your reviews. I'll watch out for that next time.


	3. Feeling All Alone Without A Friend

Hey! Finally have another chapter up. Enjoy! :)

* * *

**Chapter Three**

"_…You have to understand that it was a time of great uncertainly. We just learned that Darth Revan was back with an armada. Every Jedi that went with him was... lost, corrupted, and as dark as their Master. And then there was you. Many thought you were a spy._"

—Jedi Master Kavar

Revan weaved effortlessly through the crowd, determination seeping into her skin with every step she took. She felt an excitement course through her veins as they approached the little kiosk in front of the beaten building that looked like it must have at one point been fairly majestic. That was the way of the galaxy, Revan believed; everything broke eventually. And then it died. The trick was to slow the death.

She could see Thayne scowling from the corner of her eye, no doubt angry because he was being left in the dark. They had been walking for an hour already, having gotten lost once and been attacked by would-be muggers twice. Revan briefly wondered if his definition of safe, as he had called the city, was similar to her

own; personally she thought they had had an easy time of it. Nothing more than a few starving, out of work mercs and a couple street thieves were nothing.

The being in the kiosk was dirty looking human with wandering eyes that took in everything possible about the people in front of him. Revan was momentarily impressed that they managed to find such a man to take care of business, though it would just make things more complicated for her in the end. Breathing in, she adopted the persona of an old friend of hers, hoping that acting like the Jedi princess herself would be enough to throw the man off of her trail. She tried not to miss her friend Bastila as she approached the human.

"I'm here to compete," she said with a haughty look at the man in front of her upon her arrival at the kiosk.

"Really? How unusual for someone around here," the man growled back.

"Please, you obviously don't know who I am. Just give me a number," Revan snapped.

"Whatever, princess. Here, you're up in two rounds. You have three heats. There should be a bike in the back, dock 4. That'll be twenty credits," the man said, scratching his chin as he looked her up and down.

Revan glared at him and slammed the credits on the counter and stalked away from him. Thayne followed her, looking at her as though she had lost her mind. Little did he know there wasn't much left to lose in that area.

"What the hell was that? You got little voices talking to you in your head or something?" he demanded, surprised at her sudden personality change.

"I annoyed him just enough that he won't remember me for more than twenty minutes," Revan explained absently, her eyes roving the area for her dock.

"So explain to me why we're in a swoop den? Are you expecting to actually win money here?" Thayne asked, his voice mocking as he eyed the shady characters around him.

"Don't worry your little head about it, Korr. I used to be pretty good at this." Revan spotted the dock, in which a bike was parked. She hurried in the direction, hoping it wouldn't require much alteration before the race to get it running pretty well. They weren't in the most upstanding den in the galaxy. It was also _much _more crowded than the ones she was used to; there were people everywhere, betting, racing, watching. Better for cover, she told herself.

"You realize that professionals come here to retire, right? And that most of the schuttas here do this for a living," he said pointedly. Receiving no answer, he asked, "How many times have you raced?"

"Two, maybe three times," Revan said, thinking back for a moment. Taris was the first, Tatooine, and somewhere else she was sure. Manaan maybe.

"_Two times_? Are you insane? They'll kill you! And then they'll run over you again just to spread your guts over the track," Thayne growled.

"Well, cheaper fare for you then," Revan shot back as they reached the bike. It didn't look too damaged; nothing a quick tweak here and there wouldn't fix. She was pretty sure no other alterations were legal, though she was positive that almost everyone in the joint had tricked the engine of their machine somehow or other.

Thayne sighed in frustration, rubbing his hand over the back of his neck. "Look, you seem to be accustomed to your clinical insanity, but this is just…"

"Crazy?" Revan said, not looking up from the portion of the bike she was working on with the inadequate tools provided. She didn't have long before her first heat.

"Okay, when was the last time you raced?"

Ava thought about it. "A few years ago, I guess."

"Yeah, that's what I thought. Swoop racing has advanced since then. It used to be just hit the speed pad and don't crash into the junk in the way. Now there are ramps, rings, leaps, obstacles, turns, and other racers to crash into," Thayne said, his voice heavy with emphasis.

That made Revan look up at him. Her eyes hardened as she rose and made her way over to the track screens to observe the other players. The screen showed several racers at once, some traveling in opposite directions, with flying obstacles and jumps, just like Thayne said. Taking everything in and storing it carefully in her memory for future reference, Revan nodded to herself, sure she could do it. It would be harder, no doubt. She could still make her old time, she bet. Turning away from the monitor, Revan returned to work on the swoop.

"That had absolutely no effect on you," Thayne said. It was not a question.

"Sure it did; I'm more prepared." She tightened a bolt with a quick twist, hearing it grind into position. She knew he had been hoping to scare her out of racing. The very idea of the track scaring her was laughable.

She could feel Thayne frowning at her back, irritated that she was disregarding his warnings so blatantly. They would be going separate ways soon, so she felt no need to make him feel more comfortable with her. The further away he was from her the better; whether or not he realized it, just being around her was enough to get him killed faster than riding in an overcharged, malfunctioning swoop bike in the belly of a volatile volcano on the verge of eruption. Maybe it was a little less dangerous… at the moment, she conceded to herself.

"Fine. If you want to kill yourself, go ahead. I won't be giving you a funeral," he snapped, leaning against the wall, his arms crossed tightly over his chest, brown eyes dark.

"I'm afraid you'll be seeing me at the finish line," Revan murmured as she finished the tune up of the vehicle. There was a lot she could have done with it if she had had the right tools. As it was she was lucky to be able to clean it up some.

"At least trick it some," Thayne said.

"Where's the fun in that? Isn't imminent death so much more exciting? As this thing stands I'll be lucky not to get blown into oblivion if I hit someone else," Revan observed, eyeing the bike. Someone had tampered with it at some point in time; sabotage, she suspected. She had gotten most of the mess cleaned up.

"You had a very sad childhood, didn't you?" Thayne muttered.

Revan didn't answer. She was looking up at the score board above her head. A racer named Deka Mon just got a record score of 46.45 seconds through the whole course. That was good, she had to admit. The track wasn't short, not by a long shot. She wondered who she would be racing with and how they had tampered with their bikes to get the edge over the competition. New and innovative mechanical techniques had always been a thing of interest for Revan, especially when it concerned either swoop bikes or lightsabers.

"Racer numbers twenty-three, seven, six, nineteen, two, eight, and four, your heat is beginning," a voice crackled on the overhead comm system. She was impressed that they had to use one of those; normally people just raced whenever, but with that many racers around it just wasn't possible.

Revan couldn't keep the grin off of her face as she heard her number called. Familiar adrenaline shot through her system; swoop was one of her private pleasures in her otherwise all-consuming driven life. What did it say about her that she enjoyed a life-threatening sport for fun and relief from her life? Nothing good, she was sure.

"Go get 'em, sparky," Thayne said with a mock salute, seemingly resigned to her bout of madness.

Revan allowed her grin to grow as she jumped into her bike and threw the helmet on.

XXXXXXXXX

Case pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed as she peered at the map one more time. Beyond reason or belief they had gotten off course and were now somewhere in the region of Nowhere, which was right beyond the borders of the Nothing system. In short, she was lost. Again. For the first time she wondered if it was actually Atton who had the navigational sense in her crew. Other than a few dozen crash landings his record, and a few mishaps in the Ebon Hawk's history, the ship and the pilot were both pretty amazing. But even with that amazing track record, not even the Ebon Hawk could keep flying forever without fuel. And she was running dangerously low. A grim smile touched Case's mouth – the great Jedi Exile dying in open space because she ran out of fuel. That would be fairly ironic considering her supposed prowess.

Atton… her thoughts clouded over, going back to the moment they had said their farewells. Blood rushed to her cheeks as she remembered her parting action of kissing him. What had influenced her to do such a thing she would never know. Not that she didn't want to kiss him. She did. Only there had been nothing on his face to indicate that he had wanted the kiss.

She remembered it perfectly, every detail seared into her mind as if they had been hewn into her brain with a vibroblade. His eyes had been blank, his mouth set in a determined line. Then he had simply turned, his head bent with his hair spilling over his forehead, and walked out the door, his strong frame steady as he disappeared from her view. He had not looked back, not once. And she had watched even after there was nothing left to see.

A scowl stole across her face as embarrassment crept up from her bowels. To expose her emotions like that was usually so hard for her, and yet with him when she knew he was leaving, it had been so easy. And the kiss… she wondered what he would say if she told him that that was her first. Atton would laugh, she supposed. Just the sheer number of women he must have kissed made her shake her head. Not to even think about what he had done _beyond_ kissing.

"Observation: Master, you are tense. Perhaps target practice will improve your disposition?" HK said, turning his head to face T3, who had just rolled into the main room from the cockpit.

"No," Case said, turning away from the glowing blue light of the map to look at her droids. She found herself watching HK more than ever, now. It reminded her that he was Revan's droid; that Revan had to be out there somewhere. _Find Revan, help Revan, save the galaxy_. Those were the words that marched across her conscious mind and invaded the land of her dreams during the few hours she allowed herself to sleep. They held no comfort, no hope, only a wild grasp at what she was supposed to be doing.

And what was that exactly? She didn't know who she was fighting or what exactly she was trying to stop them from doing! Frustration flared inside of her as she reached behind her and gripped the edge of the table. The edges dug into her skin, slight pain trickling through her arms. Pain was good; pain meant she still felt things. Her worst nightmare was being alive on the day she would no longer feel anything, even pain. That one day she would truly be consumed by what she was becoming; a hole, empty and numb.

"Damn it!" she barked suddenly, throwing her head forward as if to dodge a blow to her skull. They were lost. Revan was missing, and the True Sith would kill the galaxy if she couldn't stop them.

"Query: Master? Are you experiencing hallucinations? That may be a sign that you have been in space too long," HK said, sounding amused by the prospect of having a delusional master. Right up his ally, Case supposed, considering his previous owner. For Revan had to be insane by now; she had been insane back in the days before the wars, let alone after everything that had happened since then.

"No, HK. I'm not ill," she replied, releasing the table to wrap her arms around herself, wondering how Revan stood the loneliness and the silence of wide open space. Case was out of practice since her return to the inner worlds of the galaxy. She had forgotten the silence that accompanied a life of solitude. Or maybe it was the specific people she had left behind that made her insides wrench with sadness.

"Beep deet boop dwoo," T3 said, his tone questioning.

Case looked sharply at the little machine. "Yes, I miss him. I miss all of them," she said, wondering why she was justifying herself to a droid; they had a harder time finding motives behind people's words and actions.

An alarming beep resounded from the cockpit, calling Case's attention back to the then and there. She skirted HK and leaped over T3 as she flew to the front of the ship, hoping beyond hope it was a planet and not a very large, lethal asteroid that the Ebon Hawk had picked up on its radar. She swung herself over the back of the seat and landed with a thud on the pathetic excuse for a cushion. Immediately her hands were flipping across the controls. It was most definitely a planet, at least from what the charts were telling her. It was roughly the size of

Dxun, which meant it was no more than a dwarf planet, technically. She didn't care; most planets had land, and land meant she could _move_ again.

The comm system crackled as a voice spoke through it. "This is Cejun station to unidentified vessel. Please respond."

"Roger, this is Case Roanoke, pilot of the Ebon Hawk," she responded immediately. While normally someone would warn her to exercise caution when giving out true information about herself, Case had no inclination to do so, believing that trouble would find her no matter the precautions she took. Actually, it was usually Atton who kept an eye out for things like that. But he wasn't with her at the moment, so she handled things the way she wanted.

There was silence for a moment on the comm, while Case waited with bated breath, barely believing there were sentient beings nearby. After a moment more of silence she began to worry, wondering if they had picked up on some of the shadier bits of the past belonging to the Ebon Hawk. It wasn't as if the ship hadn't been places most beings had not. The earliest owner she knew was Revan, and that had been years ago.

"Please prepare for landing, Ebon Hawk."

Case sighed with relief and acquiesced to the command. Even as a swirl of apprehension coiled in her belly at willingly landing on an unknown planet with absolutely no knowledge of its people or their affiliations, Case knew that to refuse a landing was death; she needed fuel. If something happened, she could just talk her way out of it like she usually did. Or fight. That she did a lot too.

Soon she was pulling closer to the planet, the charts having been downloaded and she was now being guided into the station. It was set back in a huge green forest, nearly invisible to passersby who were not Jedi. As it was, even Case had a problem spotting it at first. As she neared the station, she sent out tendrils of the Force, searching for anything that might threaten her life. What came back was a feeling of extreme tension beneath the surface of the planet, though there were no overwhelming hostile feelings.

As the Ebon Hawk pulled into the docking area, Case kept on her guard; she planned to get fuel and supplies as fast as possible before resuming her mission. Hopefully her regular luck of getting caught up in affairs on a given planet wouldn't have followed her so far away from the Mid Rim. She was no longer a Jedi, but neither was she able to turn her back on the many people she met who needed help.

The moment the ship was fully docked, Case told HK and T3 to be on their guards, just in case. They made their way to the exit ramp and walked out onto the planet. The dock was immaculate, shining white in the light from the star that illuminated the world. Such a star of close proximity was usually called a sun, she knew, and yet the light was oddly colored, ranging from yellow to even purple in spots. Case felt her double-bladed saber pressing against her side as she strode forward, trying to look more confident than she felt.

In front of her stood a congregation of twelve men dressed in light orange robes, their hair long with one thin braid on the left side. All were fairly tall with defined features, while the skin tones varied from pale to dark. They stood with their hands in front of them, fingers laced together as they stared unsmilingly at the Jedi

emerging from the ship. Case eyed them warily as she walked toward them, stopping about three meters away to bow slightly, which seemed like a fairly neutral action with which to greet them.

"Salutations," one of them men said, his voice deep and serene.

"Hello," Case returned, standing with her feet together and hands folded in front of her, just as she had been taught as a padawan. It was supposed to be a neutral, formal pose that conveyed authority but not hostility of any kind. The feet together let them know you weren't intending to try anything, while the folded hands put you in a perceived position of vulnerability, letting them know you would not attack.

"Welcome to Xent," the man said, lowering his head a degree in a slight bow. Case returned the action. "Are the rest of the crew coming out?"

Case tried not to show her confusion; others? "There are no others," she responded calmly.

The members of the group visibly stiffened at her words, their eyes hardening as they watched her. Case wondered what exactly she had done this time to anger the planet's people; there was always something she was doing wrong in the eyes of the authorities. For she assumed those men were the authorities. She watched as some of them leaned over to others, whispering quietly to one another, their eyes never leaving her face.

"I see," one of them said finally, "Please follow us."

Case complied, trailing behind them as they turned and filed one by one through a door at the other end of the hanger. It led through a series of control rooms and docking registries until they ended up in a room that resembled a small meeting quarter, though it was an unusual shade of yellow instead of the typical gray found in such places. Not that Case knew what was regular on Xent.

"Please, sit," one of the men said, gesturing toward an odd chair. The tables were all low to the ground with stools sitting around them, all of which were slanted a few degrees in one position. Watching as the men sat, Case discovered that the trick was sliding one's legs under the stool, almost like a kneeling position. To her surprise the backless stool was incredibly comfortable; it supported her back wonderfully with its slant, which was a much more natural position to sit in than straight up and down.

"We must administer a standard procedure for all who come to Xent," one of the men said.

"Okay. I just want fuel and supplies. I'll be going right after that," Case said, hoping they caught her subtle hint at her reluctance to stay.

"Hmm, that is so." one man replied clearly. Case hoped he meant she would be allowed to leave without aiding them in any official crises of the planet.

A pale one stepped forward and sat in front of her, folding his hands on the table in front of him. "I am Xenalus. I will be asking you a series of questions. Please answer with the full truth; we will know if you lie."

"Of course," Case said without apprehension; she wasn't too fair of a liar anyway, despite her years serving in the wars. Her soldiers during the war would often make her play lying games just so they could call her out on something, causing no end to the teasing she had had to endure. If her life depended on it she could spin a tale to get out of a sticky situation, but that was about where her talent ended.

"Please state your _full_ name," Xenalus said, one hand moving into his robe and withdrawing a datapad. He poised his hand above it, waiting for her to give an answer.

"Casey Nifka Roanoke," Case said, wincing at her middle name. She had always wondered what her parents had been drinking when they named her.

"Your age, please."

"Twenty-nine standard galactic years," Case replied.

"Your occupation, if any."

Case hesitated, wondering if what she did could technically be called a job. "I do a lot of traveling and a lot of mediating between parties," she replied vaguely. Xenalus seemed satisfied with that answer.

"The name of your husband," he continued.

"There isn't one," Case said, confused.

"Excuse me?" Xenalus asked, eyeing her severely.

"I said I don't have a husband," Case repeated.

"But you are travelling," Xenalus said pointedly.

Having no idea what that had to do with anything, Case simply nodded.

"And you are below the age of forty-seven standard galactic years," he said.

"True," she answered.

"I do not understand," Xenalus said.

"Neither do I," Case said flatly, not liking where the conversation was going.

Xenalus cleared his throat and glanced back at the men behind him. Case noticed for the first time that they were all _exactly_ identical in all but coloring, not simply similar in appearance. She kept her eyes on Xenalus, but took in the others and the rest of her environment at the same time. It was an old Jedi training routine that padawans were frequently told to do. There was a small vent about two meters above the ground that wouldn't be hard to reach. That could be her escape if worst came to worst.

The man in front her cleared his throat once more, sounding nervous. Case noticed the others behind him were staring with enough intensity to make Xenalus uncomfortable; she was fidgety just watching him endure their scrutiny. She waited for Xenalus to speak. Despite his tense appearance, his voice was ever serene as he said, "We have a sworn responsibility to educate you on our laws, then."

"Do you?" Case murmured. That should be fascinating.

"It is dictated by Pallo that all who are over the years of seventeen and under the years of forty-seven must submit themselves to be bound by the law in a state that befits sentient beings within that time frame of their lives," he said, the words sounding much like a recitation.

Blinking once, twice, Case sat still, trying to discern what in the universe the man was talking about. She caught whatever it was that he said about being legally bound if over seventeen or under forty-seven, but that meant absolutely nothing to her. She waiting for Xenalus to continue. When he and the rest of the men remained silent, she spoke.

"Okay. What does that mean?" she asked slowly, curious as to what exactly she had done.

"By landing here you have submitted yourself to our authority until we deem you worthy of release," Xenalus replied. Case wasn't sure if that answered her question.

What she did understand was that she had to obey their laws or she was going nowhere. Great. It was like old times. "Very well, if that is my only option," she said cordially, "But in what way am I to be bound? I won't interfere in anything."

"You are to be bound as Pallo commands it."

"Who is Pallo?" Case asked.

"Pallo is all around. It is in every living thing and governs the universe," Xenalus said, his voice reverent.

"You mean the Force?" Case was thrilled that they knew about it. At least they seemed to respect it, and being a Force-user herself, it might come in handy.

"Yes, it has been called such. As Pallo commands you shall be bound," Xenalus repeated.

Case tried to remember anything in her training that referred to people being "bound" in some way during a specific age range. Nothing came to mind. It sounded so odd for someone to speak of the Force in such a way. "I'm not sure I know what you mean," she said, trying to keep her voice respectful.

"You will be bound marriage, of course."

XXXXXXX

The street was lit by a single light, which provided enough illumination for Atton to see the girl disappear into an apartment that looked as old and beat down as the ancient droid back on the docking platform. He slipped forward, melding with the shadows for cover, cursing the girl and the Force for making him follow her. He could have been on his way to Tatooine, and the sooner he did that the sooner he would be able to follow Case.

Case… Atton pushed thoughts of her from his mind, knowing that she was the thing that would distract him more than anything else if he thought about her too much. He gritted his teeth as he thought about the last time they had been together. It was the first time they had really touched. She had kissed him… Atton set his jaw firmly, remembering his vow to himself that he would see her again, and when he did the action would be returned. But there was still a ways ahead of him before that could happen.

Sliding close to the wall, Atton reached the door to the apartment without difficulty. Just for good measure he put up a good amount of misdirection with the Force. From that point on he was able to walk past the patrons of the building (mostly twi'lek and rodians) without one of them turning their head. He felt the girl was near, probably another floor up. He took a nearby lift and was soon in one of the grungiest hallways he had ever had the displeasure to be in. It was like old times, he thought grimly to himself.

There, the room on the end was hers. Atton crept forward and halted at the extremely old metal door. He looked at it dubiously, unsure if it would even open. A grin crept onto his face at the thought; _anything_ would open for him. His hands reached for the code pad and began to work. In a matter of seconds the lock clicked at the door slid open.

A knife pressed against his throat, the edge barely splitting his skin. Atton didn't move, but his eyes slid to the left and caught sight of the girl, her face contorted with anger. He understood her hatred of him; it was deserving. Flicking the fingers of one hand, Atton sent the girl shooting across the room and against the sofa, where she landed with a soft thud.

"Kark you!" she swore.

Atton raised an eyebrow at her language; the girl had obviously not hung out with the best sorts. "Schutta," he returned without venom.

"Mudcrutch," she barked.

"I'd keep that filth inside your mouth if I were you," Atton said darkly, striding toward her. She leapt to her feet, defiant at his advance.

"Kriffing son of a bantha! What the frack do you want," she growled.

Atton shook his head condescendingly. "I'm willing to bet you're a tarhead, aren't you?" he said, ignoring the insults. The red rims around her eyes let him know that she did indeed favor the thick, dark liquid that was usually a favorite among insect-like species. Why she was addicted was a mystery; Atton couldn't stand the stuff.

"Go space yourself," she snapped.

"I'll take that as a yes," he said, walking closer.

"No! I'm not," she said, her voice quavering a bit, "I quit that stuff about a year back. I can't get rid of the physical signs, though."

That was true – the junk had lasting effects on the person, making their lungs constrict and their liver fail eventually, not to mention the outer signs like red-rimmed eyes and blackened gums. He looked her up and down. Frack, she looked like her sister. He swallowed hard, fighting to keep his mind away from the time in the past. And yet… he knew that was why he was there with the girl.

"You're her sister then," he said gruffly.

The girl didn't say anything for a moment, just glared. Then she spat, "Yes. Ven is my name. Use it, blue-sider."

Atton tsk-ed at her. "By 'blue-sider' I'm assuming you mean I'm not a dark Jedi or Sith," he said.

"Smart, aren't you?" Ven sneered.

"I like to think so, yeah," Atton replied thoughtfully, "But I didn't come here to talk about me."

"And you didn't come to kill me; _Jedi_ don't do that," she spat.

Atton shrugged uncaringly. "See, the only problem with that is I'm not a Jedi, not really."

"Yes you are; you're bluer than Manaan," she insisted.

Looking carefully at her, Atton realized the girl was Force-sensitive. Very much so, unless he was mistaken, which he wasn't; just like her sister. The thought that her sister had not been around to initiate her into the Order jabbed at Atton like a vibroshiv in the gut.

"I came first to say that… I'm sorry," Atton said, his voice breaking.

"Wow, thanks, that makes everything so much better," Ven snapped, "Especially so many years after you murdered her."

"She was amazing, your sister. She was a true Jedi; she gave her life to save mine, and I killed her for it," Atton said, taking a step back to give her a little room.

"I don't want to hear about this," Ven hissed, turning away from him.

"She showed me the truth about the Sith, about everything. And about what they would do to me, like they had to everyone else. I didn't deserve her sacrifice," Atton continued, knowing she had to hear what he had to say as much as he needed to say it.

"Stop! Get out! She's dead," Ven shouted, whipping around to face Atton.

Atton stepped closer, unafraid of the girl, though he knew what power hatred and grief could give an individual. "I came here for your sister, to save you," Atton said, keeping his voice soft.

"Get. Out."

"No. You're falling and you know it. You can't want to become what your sister fought against," Atton reasoned, surprising even himself with how he was handling the situation; patience wasn't his forte.

"Only a Force-sensitive can fall so badly, idiot," Ven snarled, "And in case you haven't notice, no Jedi ever turned up on my doorstep to train me."

But they had come for her sister. "The Order was defeated, Ven, but it's being rebuilt. And I'm telling you, they'll train you."

"Sithspit."

"It's true. I don't care what lies you tell yourself, you know the truth. And this is it," Atton said forcefully.

"You think I want to do what she did? Give my life for a bunch of mudcrutches who care more about the latest swoop race than if I live?"

"Let me show you what your sister was," Atton said, moving closer.

"Stay back!" Ven commanded, retreating into a corner, her eyes wild.

Atton stepped closer and reached out to her with the Force. He felt the walls she had thrown up around herself, but they were brittle and cracked. Gently pushing them aside, he dove in. Anger, hate, and fear buffeted him as he entered her mind, trying to throw him out or kill him. He resisted and found Ven at the core of the emotions, huddled away from it all, trying to hide. Atton touched her, feeling her shudder. Light swallowed her, swaddling her in its warmth as he remembered it doing to him. And the storm around them calmed, unlike it had done for him; he had raged stronger, killing the one who had saved him. This girl accepted the truth much faster than he had. He admired her for it.

When he finally pulled away, he had gotten a grasp of the girl's power; it was impressive to say the least. It wasn't anywhere near some of the Jedi he had encountered, but she would most definitely be an asset to the growing Jedi council. And it would save her from herself and the rotted pit of a moon she was living on; Atton knew from experience that Nar Shadaa was not the best place to find yourself.

"I… oh, gods," she murmured, putting a hand to her head. When she lifted her eyes to Atton, they were clear and happy. "Everything feels so clear. It's the opposite of black membrosia; I feel light, like…someone just lifted a planet off of me."

"Pretty insane, isn't it," he said softly.

Ven looked unsure for a moment, opened her mouth, and then closed it. Atton waited for her to speak. "This doesn't… I mean, I don't have to wear a robe or not date or anything, do I?"

Atton laughed. It had been a long time since he had felt any humor at all, and if felt good. "No, you don't. Things are…different now than they were." He looked at her with a glint in his eye, "And don't worry, you can still spew garbage like a backed-up sewer pipe; just don't do it around the Jedi. They'll gut you with their lightsabers." Just the thought of her cursing at Mira or Visas sent a shudder through Atton; the poor girl wouldn't do that again.

"Of course. What do you think I am?" Ven sniffed.

"A Jedi," Atton replied.

Ven looked struck. She smiled after a moment, shifting on her feet. "I still feel angry with you," she said quietly.

"That's fine. Just don't let it eat at you. One of the things they'll teach you is that fear leads to anger, and that leads to the dark side. Trust me, that is one place you don't want to go," Atton replied, his voice dark.

"There's…something I should tell you. You killing my sister wasn't all your fault. She went to you because she saw something in a vision; she told me first because…she knew she wouldn't be coming back," Ven said slowly, softly.

Atton froze, afraid to hear more, and yet desperate to know what happened. He didn't deserve to be forgiven, but he could live with that.

"I told her she was crazy, that someone like you would gut her and ask questions later. I was only nine and I understood it. But then she said something so odd… I don't think I'll ever forget it. She told me that by saving you she would save the Jedi, and by extension the galaxy. Can you think of something more insane to say?" Ven said, giving a weak laugh.

"Yeah, I can," Atton replied. He knew exactly what her sister had meant, though he doubted if the girl had truly understood what it was she had done. If she hadn't saved him, Case would have died or been captured on Peragus, and she most certainly would've had a problem on Nar Shaddaa and other events during their journey. By saving him, he had been able to save her, and she would save the galaxy.

Ven watched him uncomfortably. Atton could sense conflict in her; a desire to forgive and forget, healing the wounds of the past. Against that desire was her anger for her sister's death and the man who had murdered her in cold blood.

"Look, I know this won't help, and that it's too late for this crap, but… thank you for letting her save me," Atton managed to say.

"Not like I had a choice," Ven pointed out, "And if I had, I would have kept her safe and let you die."

"Fair enough. And for what it's worth, she did save the galaxy," he replied.

Ven's eyes shone just a bit in the dim light of the room. She quickly wiped at them and scowled. "I'm glad you saved me and everything, but this damn 'goodness' is making me weepy," she growled. Then, softer, "It's worth a lot to me, knowing that. It means she didn't die for nothing." Suddenly she laughed, startling Atton. "I used to hate Jedi, especially blue-siders like you. I thought they were weak and cowardly; I was angry with my sister. That's why when I saw you and how blue you were, it was like a red cape to a laigrek; and then I knew who you were – I could feel her in your head.

"She's still there, you know. When she saved you, she opened you up. I knew… you were important, but that didn't change how I felt about it. I guess if I'm going to do something with my life, I want it to be something she would be proud of."

Atton felt something at that moment, something he had felt only once before; he felt love for the girl, but in the way that he was beginning to feel for the entire galaxy – like he would give anything to save them even though they were strangers. The feeling reminded him of Case and his worry over her. That brought him back to his current mission; he had to get Ven to the new Order and then be on his way.

"Are you ready to leave?" he asked, feeling the pressure of time pushing forcefully on his shoulders.

"So soon? Gods, that's a relief. I can leave as soon as I grab my droid," Ven said, rushing past him and grabbing a sack.

"Droid?" Atton asked, his voice betraying his disgust.

"Yeah. He should be here in a second. I was actually hoping he would help me kill you, that is until you… you know. Yeah…" Ven turned and began filling her pack with things for her trip. Atton encouraged her to pack light, but not leave anything behind she would want later; there would not be a return trip very soon.

The door slid open a moment later, revealing the old, beat up droid that Atton had seen earlier. "What the frack is that thing doing here?" he asked stepping away from the unstable-looking machine.

"That's K-09D4. I call him D3," Ven said with a curious look at Atton.

"I hate droids," Atton muttered under his breath, backing farther away from the bolt bucket.

"D4 is no ordinary droid. He's been through more battles than anyone alive today. On top of that he's a hell of a slicer," Ven said proudly, slinging her pack over her shoulder. "I'm ready to leave this Force-forsaken pit." She smiled.

"Hey now, this place has a certain beauty to it," Atton teased.

"Yeah, it's like staring at the back end of a hutt. Not that there's a lot of difference between that and the front… Let's go," she growled, striding toward the door. Atton moved to follow her, but she swung around, fire blazing in her eyes. "If you try anything, I'll kill you," she warned.

"Force, you're paranoid," Atton snorted, brushing past her, "What am I going to do? Save you and then kill you? I don't know when I got so stupid."

"Okay, alright, I get it. Just move," Ven said.

The starport was, if possible, busier than when Atton had been there only half an hour ago. The crowds rushed to the shuttles as if their back ends were on fire. He looked at Ven for an explanation, figuring she would know more about the rush hours than he would. He hadn't lived on the Smuggler's Moon in years.

"They close early now, and if you don't get to your shuttle you don't go. No refunds," Ven said darkly.

Atton swore under his breath and glanced around for his ship. It was still docked and waiting for him, but he knew that if flights were being closed that it was only a matter of time before someone bought him out and flew away while he wasted another day on the moon.

"Let's go. I've got a ship to Tatooine. You come with me and we'll get you transport out from there," Atton said, jogging toward the ship.

"Tatooine? I don't think so," Ven said, looking nervous, "I don't like sand or too much sun. It's just not good for me."

"It is worse for you than being stuck here?" Atton asked, eyebrows raised.

Ven scowled and ran after him as he took off for the ship. "You're a jerk," she called up to him.

"Get used to it, kid," he shot back. The ship was waiting for them, and after a moment of haggling for the extra two passengers, they were set to leave.

As Atton sat in his seat and watched the moon of Nal Hutta fade away, he thought about what exactly he had done; he had recruited a Force-sensitive. Briefly wondering how it had been done in the old days by the Council, Atton turned to Ven. She was staring out the window at the receding planet with a look of relief on her face.

"Who's going to train me?" she asked unexpectedly.

"I don't know," Atton replied, wondering if Mical would take her on personally. Though perhaps he was too busy to take on a padawan at the moment.

That left Bao-Dur, Mira, and Visas. Atton frowned at the thought of the ragtag group of Jedi who were now responsible for the future of the galaxy. A blond idiot, a zabrak from the war with one arm, an ex-bounty hunter and honorary mandalorian, and a miraluka who was the last of her kind. Then there was Case, who was technically "broken," and himself, who had never been whole in the first place.

"Are you… I mean, do you have a padawan?" she asked hesitantly.

"No, I'm on a different mission," Atton said quickly.

"Oh," she said. Pause. "What _are_ you doing?"

"I'm looking for someone who is helping to save the galaxy," Atton responded. He scowled as the words left his mouth; cryptic-ness seemed to be contagious.

The rest of the ride went smoothly, and Atton felt refreshed by a ride that didn't end up with him getting shot out of the sky. It was a nice change of pace. Before long the bright suns of Tatooine were shining upon them as they neared the planet. He worried briefly that his mother had moved on, as she was apt to do. But no, after reaching out through the Force he could feel her; he knew her signature well. It was subtle, and yet if looked at closely completely unusual. That was Renai Rand for you. Dear old mother. It was going to be a long visit.

* * *

So, that's it for now. I've started the next chapter. Sorry about this one; it's a little dull. But don't worry, we'll get into Case's trials on Xent then. I have a few things formulating in my head, but if there's anything you really want me to include, put it in a review and I'll see what I can do. No promises, though. ;)


	4. Hello

This one is longer than I wanted it to be; took a different turn that I thought. **Atton's mother makes her first appearance though!** Yay!

NOTE: I am really sorry! I posted the wrong version of the chapter and then tried to replace it, but things went... wrong.

This chapter's kind of a bridge for stuff. Next chapter we see the evil Sith things again. Wooooo! Sorry, I'm really tired. I've got the flu or something, not fun.

* * *

Chapter Four

Atton was jarred in his seat as the ship banged to a stop on the hard landing pad of Tatooine. He gritted his teeth and wondered what the pilot had been smoking when he took off. If Case had thought _Atton's_ landings were bad, she would have strangled the pilot of the _Avenger_ for such a sloppy descent. Counting it as a miracle to have lived through the flight, Atton vowed to pay the pilot back if he ever decided it was worth the effort.

Growling irritably under his breath, Atton pushed out of his seat and grabbed his bag, slinging it over his shoulder impatiently. He waited for Ven to gather her things before strolling out of the room and down the ramp. He fought the urge to hesitate before stepping onto the planet he had sworn he would never set foot on again. _Not like my oaths have meant much in the past, anyway_, he thought ruefully, setting his black booted foot on the grainy surface of the accursed planet.

"What?" Ven asked from his left. Her rickety droid tottered next to her, his processors grinding irritatingly. Atton winced at the thought of sand caught in the heap of metal; nothing like the sound of Tatooine sand rattling around in a metal can.

Atton gripped the straps of his bag tighter as the blinding yellow of the sand hit him. No place like a sand-filled hell to bring back precious memories of his childhood.

"Just thinking about the fastest way to get rid of you," he said without venom.

Ven ignored his answer and marched forward to meet the dockmaster, who was discussing fees with the pilot. Atton hung back to watch the argument, preferring not to have his head beaten in by two cheap thieves. Neither of them looked happy when Ven barged in, throwing her two credits into the conversation. Atton frowned; why did she bother? He wouldn't have paid the docking fee anyway; Force persuade was an amazing thing.

With a sigh of impatience, Atton stalked past the bickering group, feeling the sand shift and hiss beneath his feet as he walked. D4 hurried along behind him, his whining joints grating on Atton's nerves. "Kid," he snapped at her, "Let's go." The other two beings didn't notice her leave as Atton sent a wave of Force misdirection over them.

Wrinkling her nose, Ven put in her last word before trotting after the retreating Atton as he advanced toward the settlement. The gate was open to the public, allowing them into Anchorhead without a hitch. The inhabits brushed past the offworlders with complete disinterest; two humans were not unusual for that time of year. Though females were a little scarce at times, there was no reason to do anything hasty, the passersby thought to themselves.

"I hate this place," Ven groused as she picked her way around ronto droppings.

_Try living here for a couple years_, Atton thought to himself, trying not to relive bad memories of bubos and krayt dragons. Thinking about it, it was a miracle he had lived through his teenage and young adult years. Or any years, he supposed, what with his mother's way of living.

"Look, let's me get off of this twice spaced planet. I feel like a sitting mynock out here," Ven said, glancing around her nervously.

"Kid, you're getting on my nerves. Just strap in for a while; it's not that easy getting out of here. The whole planet's a sand trap," Atton replied.

Ven's eyes widened. "I'm not leaving? If I'd known that I would've stayed on the Smuggler's Moon!"

"Don't get your skivvies in a twist. We just need a lot of money to turn a couple heads the other way and hire a pilot who won't stick a vibroblade in your back the moment you take off," he answered, scanning the area for the local cantina.

"And how are we going to get this small fortune?" Ven asked, her voice sardonic.

Atton's mouth twitched with a smirk. "The only way anyone can get that rich that fast; pazaak."

Disbelief colored Ven's face. "Or we could fall into the pit of poverty so fast our necks snap."

"What's life without risks? Besides, I have a feeling luck's on our side," he replied. He was good at Pazaak; the rules didn't change on him and he knew how to read people.

"Whatever. It's your money; I'm more broke than a compacted droid," Ven replied with a shrug.

Atton made his way casually to the cantina, moving immediately to the pazaak tables in an adjoining room to the main area where holovids of biths were playing instruments for the entertainment of the patrons. _Pathetic_, he thought, frowning at how dull the entire atmosphere was. But he knew the suns could beat the energy out of a man just as easily as they could give life.

The pickings for pazaak were thin, he noted as he scanned the room. There was a woman in the corner talking to herself and a twi'lek playing by himself in the corner. Atton bet the twi'lek would have more money to lose, since the woman was likely an easy target for even amateurs. He walked over to the twi'lek and pulled out a chair before draping himself lithely across it.

"I'll deal," he said, not waiting for the twi'lek to respond

The twi'lek nodded once and began to select his side deck. Atton shuffled the deck and assembled his cards. The first one he drew was a ten. He inwardly winced; that could set him back. And on the game went. Atton won once and then let the twi'lek win twice to reduce the suspicion upon himself. He pulled a "miraculous" two wins after that, winning the set and three hundred credits from his opponent. A second round was won just as easily, bringing them up to eight hundred credits.

When Atton looked up from the end of the second set, he noticed a small crowd had begun to gather. He grinned inwardly; the credits would start flowing real quick. "Who's next?" he asked cockily, knowing his arrogance would prod the egos of those who considered themselves good players. And he was right.

XXXXX

"No, I'm not being bound to anyone," Case refused.

"There is no choice," Xenalus replied simply, "If you continue to refuse you will be imprisoned and forced into a bond. We prefer not to do that."

"You're right, there is no choice; I'm leaving," Case said, standing.

Xenalus surged to his feet, eyes sharp. "You _will_ be bound."

"There must be some way to compromise. If I promise to get married eventually, will that appease you?" Case asked.

"Pallo must be obeyed," Xenalus snapped, "Creyn, take her to Waiting Room. If she resists, incapacitate her though any means."

Case gaped at the sudden change in the man. Anger flitted through her and she tried to calm it.

"I am sorry you would not be more cooperative; your stay could have been so pleasant. Do not make us harm you."

Clenching her teeth hard enough force to make her gums scream in protest, Case turned to the young man indicated by Xenalus and followed him out of the room. When they had reached the Waiting Room – a dormitory style living space – Creyn told her to take the room with a purple blob on the door.

"And before you go…" Creyn reached out with lighting quick speed and snapped a metal hoop on Case's wrist.

"Hey! What…?" She grabbed at the thing. It contracted, squeezing tightly against her skin.

"Don't do that. The harder you pull, the tighter it gets. If you try too hard it will sever your hand. We wouldn't want that," Creyn said without sympathy.

"Of course not," Case snapped. She attacked the shackle with the Force, but felt it contract once again; it seemed they had thought of that, too.

"If you need anything, I'm sure you can do without it," Creyn said with a twisted smile. Without waiting for Case to respond, he exited and shut the door behind him. She heard a metallic click as the lock slid into place. She was stuck.

Case sighed in frustration as she marched over to the door with the purple blob on it. Blob was definitely the right word; whoever decorated the stupid commons area was an imbecile. The main colors were green, yellow, and black with different colored blobs on each of the doors. The color combination made Case's head throb.

The door to her room was very odd; it had a sort of metal handle on it that had to be grabbed and a little switch pressed before the door would open. And it swung inward on hinges instead of the normal kind that slid back into walls or the floor. She awkwardly closed it behind her before settling on the floor to meditate. Her legs folded beneath her and she rested her hands on her knees, palms up, and slowed her breathing. Stress wouldn't help.

"Casey Nifka Roanoke," a metallic voice called out, "Report to testing center AA36t."

Case's eye snapped open at the grating sound of the voice. She glanced up to see a comm on the wall that had been the one yelling at her. She rose to her feet in a single fluid movement with determination in her bones; she would face the whole situation like a Jedi. She would wait and let fate step in as it always did, or at least for an opportunity for escape to arise. Antagonizing the locals would only make her situation worse. After all, how bad a guy could they choose for her?

XXXXX

"Racers, start your engines," the mechanical voice intoned over the comm system.

Revan couldn't help the large grin that spread over her face as she revved the swoop. Her blood raced through her veins as she began the first fast-paced, non-lethal competition she had had in years. Memories of times long past flooded her mind. Some were true, some she knew were false – the ones in which she remembered living on Deralia as a child and racing with her friends. But some were good; Carth, Mission, Jolee, and all the rest were with her in those memories.

Swallowing hard, Revan pushed those thought away, feeling her throat constrict with emotion. She missed all of them more than she could take. They were a family; Jolee was her father, Mission and Bastila her sisters, Zaalbar a good friend, Juhani a best friend, Canderous fitting into the role of crazy cousin, and Carth… Carth was special.

She was forced back into the present, leaving her family to fall back into the past as the droid holding the light in front of her began the sequence. Red. Yellow. Green. Revan shot forward, pulling ahead of the others in the line to hit the first boost pad and dodge a glowing red ball that floated directly in front of her. If her hearing served her well, there were fans activated along the course, as well as some sort of lift pads that would most likely try to shove her off course. Her grin widened; it was going to be so much fun.

Immediately she realized that there were more obstacles than were visible from the viewing screens. Fan blasts buffeted her from the left, right, and even underneath her in spots, shoving her toward floating red orbs that would shock her swoop and slow it down considerably. Revan compensated for the pushes, gunning forcefully opposite them. With little thought about it, she blocked her senses through the Force, relying only on her reflexes. Adrenaline shot through her body, heightening the experience.

_"Revan! Stop being an idiot and use the Force,"_ a voice shouted at her in her mind.

Shock nearly made her collide with another racer, but she was able to pull aside just in time to avoid being sandwiched into the wall. "Carth?" she murmured.

Surely she had imagined it… there was no other explanation. Carth was not Force sensitive, or at least not enough to be communicating with her telepathically. Even if he was the distance between them was too great. Revan directed her thoughts back to the race. She noticed a small opening between two swoops racing at her, probably intending to remove her as competition by mauling the sides of her swoop. _No chance_, she thought wickedly. Quickly boosting her speed, she shot at them, hitting a piece of debris just in time to tilt nearly onto her side and slid between them unscathed. Excitement thrilled through her.

_"Revan! Do you _want_ to get yourself killed?"_ Carth growled at her.

That time Revan had no doubt that she was imaging the voice; Carth usually called her "Shay" when he was worried about her. Not Revan. And yet the mere sound of him speaking to her (real or not) was enough to make her go numb with longing. It had been so long since she last heard him…talked to him… With a sudden chuckle forcing its way out of her throat, Revan realized she had finally cracked wide open; she was truly insane. And yet that knowledge didn't bother her much. It was inevitable, she supposed.

Content in the knowledge that luck favored the insane, Revan barreled down the track, recklessly weaving around the obstacles, keeping herself blocked off from the Force. It was just her and the swoop. A laugh escaped her as she flew over a barrier and another racer, landing squarely on the booster pad and rocketing toward the finish line.

XXXXX

Watching with a complex mixture of horror and admiration, Thayne wondered who Shayla really was. It was obvious that an ordinary occupation was not her calling. If he didn't know better… no, it was impossible. He winced as two swoops gunned for Shayla's pod. Just as it seemed a collision was unavoidable, she slammed into an old crate and tipped up onto her side and shot between them, leaving her two attackers to smash into each other with a bone-rattling crash. The crowd that was gathered around the monitors cheered wildly. Thayne shook his head. That woman was insane. That move was impossible and should have killed her!

From the moment he met her in their cells within those ruins, he knew she was a vacuum for trouble. In the past day they had run into more trouble than he had been able to conjure up in a month's time. And there was something about her that was slightly off. Like someone had pulled a thin veil over her that kept him from knowing exactly what she was doing. He could see movements and shadows, but nothing definite.

That frustrated him to no end. He didn't like being a step behind someone so close to him. As he watched her maneuver flawlessly around every obstacle, Thayne wondered what her life had been like, how her family was, if she had any, and what had led her so far away from the inner rims of space. She seemed like the kind of person to be around people, leading them or something, not wandering around Wild Space.

People around him erupted into a chorus of cheers as Shayla slid to a halt at the finish line, well ahead of any other racer. He glanced down to take a look at her time. Shock registered in his system as he saw the numbers: 34:23. That wasn't possible. It was a minute long track under normal conditions. Scowling slightly, he knew that that kind of success would make them a target for who knew what kind of beings. Was she incapable of keeping a low profile?

When Shayla leaped out of the pod and took the helmet off, shaking her dark hair out of its knots as she strode away from the bike to the applause of the crowd. Her head was ducked behind the curtain of her dark mane, hiding her face, walking at a medium pace, blending in. Soon the eyes of the spectators drifted away from the short, dark-haired figure sliding through the crowd.

Thayne moved quickly to meet her, taking her by the elbow when he caught her and dragging her over to a secluded table in the lobby area for the swoop spectators. She allowed him to lead her, sitting gracefully in a seat when she reached the table. Her hair flipped back and she pulled it quickly into a tail with a tie, not looking at him but at her race record. A smile appeared at her face; it was one of satisfaction and of one amused.

"I suppose you think that was funny," Thayne growled, "Now we'll have everyone all over us."

"I don't think so. You see that twi'lek over there?" Shayla said, pointing with a pale finger.

Thayne turned around and glanced in the direction she indicated, catching a full view of a very scantily clad twi'lek sauntering up to her swoop. There was not a male eye in the place that was not on her. She was extremely well endowed in every aspect, but Thayne had no desire to watch her, first because he liked the women of his own species better and second because the woman sitting in front of him was more fascinating than anything that girl could do.

"Distraction, all right," he murmured, turning back to Shayla. By the look on her face, he doubted her race happening just before the twi'lek stripper was an accident. But how? He shook his head.

"Unless I throw all my clothes off and parade in front of them, they won't notice me. Even if I did decide to bare all, I'm not that… gifted," she said, her mouth quirking in amusement.

Fighting the mental image that was pushing itself into his thoughts, Thayne snorted and leaned back in his chair. After a moment's pause, he asked, "So, how much did you win?"

"Enough. Especially with that score," Shayla said, her pride showing.

"And you've raced twice in your life," Thayne said dubiously.

"I think it's four now," she said pointedly, rising and gliding away.

Thayne growled irately and pushed roughly back from the table to follow. The woman was insane. He trotted to catch up with her, falling in stride as he did. They stopped briefly by the check in kiosk to collect the winnings; it was certainly enough to leave the planet. And come back and leave again. He glanced up to see the record of her race being looped on the monitors while the crew hurried to clean up the mess from the crash.

"You're out of your mind!" Thayne fumed, storming behind Shayla as they made their way back toward the transport office.

She said nothing as she stepped over a disgusting pool of putrid water, wondering how in the galaxy the city they were in had escaped the notice of the Republic or some kind of authority. It was far too large to have remained hidden. Granted, it was on the Rim, but even with its obscure position it was odd. With a shake of her head to clear her mind, Shayla directed her thoughts to more imminent things.

The transport station was just ahead, and Thayne was still fuming about her near-death experience and how badly it would have inconvenienced him had he had to cover up her death. Feeling the support simply _flowing_ from Thayne, she whipped around to face him, a slight smile on her face.

"Let's remember who has the credits, shall we?" Shayla said, reaching out to pinch his cheek painfully. He ducked out of the way, glaring.

Shrugging, Thayne replied, "I could just kill you and take them."

Shayla laughed openly at that statement, feeling her saber pressed against her back. She had hidden it from him, unwilling to let anyone know who or what she was. No matter how skilled a man he may be, Shayla was death walking, in the lethal sense of the phrase. Humility aside, it was just no possible in direct combat. And she knew the techniques of Jedi-killers; she had developed them. The poison, the long-distance attacks, everything.

Thayne frowned at her obvious dubiousness.

"Like you killed that merc?" Shayla said, her voice dark.

Thayne turned to look at her and was met with the hardened face of the ex-Sith Lord. Perhaps if he had known who he was facing there would not have been cocky defiance in his gaze. Most would have run, screaming away from her, terrified that they had been so close to death. And yet he stared back, oblivious to the identity of the woman in front of him. The thought amused Shayla somewhat, but the gravity of her question did not allow for much entertainment.

"Which merc are you talking about?" he asked. Shayla cocked her eyebrow at him. How many mercs had been killed by them in the last few hours? One. He knew who she meant, she knew he did. Thayne made an annoyed sound before responding, "_You_ shot him. And if you think I'm going to take the fall for that, you're crazier than I thought." He shook his head.

"Thayne," Shayla said slowly, halting her hurried gait. He stopped next to her, raising an eyebrow at her. She spoke, "I don't have a blaster."

Confusion washed over his face, and she knew what he was thinking. How was that possible? She had her suspicions, but she was unwilling to jump to a conclusion just yet. There was time.

"Look, I don't know what you're trying to pull, but I _saw_ you shoot that guy."

"Interesting," she murmured, resuming her trek to the station.

"Don't give me that psycho-mystic trash," Thayne snapped, catching up with her. Shayla didn't respond. After a moment he exhaled irately. "Shayla, anyone ever tell you that getting hit with a banger would be less painful than talking to you?"

"Not in those exact words," she replied amusedly. Bangers were concussion missiles that were unpleasant to deal with, she knew. Pilots from Commenor had given them the nickname for their loud sonic boom that could deafen the naked ear that got too close.

"If the Jedi were still around, I'd tell you to join them. You'd get along great," he grumbled.

"Rot in Boboqueequee," Shayla shot back without malice.

"Touchy, Shay, touchy."

"Don't call me—"

"Yeah, yeah, got it. _What's_ so interesting?"

"Curiosity killed the tak," Shayla said, quoting a familiar phrase that referred to the small, purple creatures that were always setting off mines or getting sucked into vehicle engines because of their curiosity.

"And the blastfighter killed the swoop rider," Thayne retorted.

"Hey, hey, now," she said, "Let's keep this civil."

Thayne hooked his hand around her arm, swinging her to face him. He encircled her upper arms with his fingers, his eyes boring into hers. Shayla met his gaze unflinchingly, mouth hard with disapproval. With infinitesimal movement, she wrenched out of his grip, still standing in front of him. His face clouded with the momentary disconnect from her sudden disappearance from his grip, but he quickly recovered.

"I haven't said anything, but something's not right with you," he growled, "and I want to know what it is before it kills me."

Fighting the urge to laugh, Shayla loosely folded her arms over her stomach, leaning her weight onto her left foot, standing casually as she observed Thayne. "Trust me; knowing would kill you much faster."

"I like to see the asteroid before it hits," he replied.

"Not this one you don't. If you don't look and you run, that might be enough to get you out alive," she said darkly.

A moment of silence stretched on, thick and saturated with tension as it hung between them. Shayla hoped he would take her advice and run, but her tactical side knew it was best to have someone around to spread the damage when it was dealt to her. Two blasters were better than one, as the saying went. Shayla against Revan raged in her head; Shayla said to leave him to live, while Revan reasoned that if he wanted to tag along, she was not the one to stop him.

Thayne's face suddenly cracked into a smile that snapped the tension clean in two. "I'm one curious tak. Lead on, Shay."

"I swear that if you call me that one more time, you'll be watching your guts spill out of your abdomen," Shayla said calmly, pushing herself forward, on toward the station without looking back to see if he followed. She knew he would. They always did.

XXXXX

Atton grinned as he walked out of the cantina; nothing like a good dozen rounds of pazaak to lighten the mood. As long as he didn't think about who he'd rather play with, he would be fine; thoughts about her had to be saved for a safer time.

"Where in space did you learn to play like that?" Ven demanded as she followed him, her droid creaking along behind her.

"My mother," he replied without humor.

Ven looked at him quizzically, but said nothing more. Atton was glad; he didn't want to talk when he could be doing something.

It took a surprisingly short time for him to find her a fairly trustworthy transport back to Dantooine, which meant that as much as he loathed to do it, Atton had to talk to the blond idiot before he could send Ven; a surprise padawan wasn't exactly something they would appreciate. After settling Ven and the trash heap at a diner, Atton walked just out of sight and withdrew his long-distance comm from his pack. Grimacing, he contacted Mical.

"Mical," The blonde identified himself as he appeared on the screen, his face tired.

"It's me," Atton said gruffly.

Hope lit the disciple's face as he saw Atton. "Have you found her? Is she alright? If she needs me I can be there soon," he said hurriedly. Then with a glance at Atton's surroundings, "Where are you?"

Atton didn't answer the question. "It's not Case; I haven't seen her."

"You were going to find her," Mical said, his voice slightly accusing.

"I've been a bit busy," Atton snapped, "And that wasn't the reason I left."

"I assumed that you would… I should have just gone. If there was someone else who could stay here, I would have. She needs someone with her; going alone to do the things she is doing..." Mical's face was worried as he spoke, and slight anger bled through his normally calm exterior.

Atton felt irritation boil inside of him. "She can handle herself. Case knows what she's doing."

"I don't think she does. Perhaps a general idea, but I'm not sure she understands as Revan did. No one knows war like Revan… I should have accompanied her. She will need my help," Mical said.

"Look, she's not as fragile as you like to think. How do you think she lived alone on the Rim for so many years?" Atton snapped.

"That was different," Mical said impatiently, "She wasn't being hunted."

"Right now she's the one doing the hunting," Atton pointed out.

"Atton, I don't think—"

"I did pick someone else up," Atton growled, disliking the way Mical clung to Case. Not that he did much different, but that was something else entirely. He leaned over to peek at Ven, who was digging into her gizka sandwich with gusto.

"What? Who?" Mical asked, frowning.

"A girl. She's…the sister of someone I used to know. She's Force sensitive and wants to be trained," Atton explained briefly.

"I see. A friend of yours…" Mical said, his eyes curious.

_Not a chance,_ Atton said mentally. He wasn't sharing a scrap of his past with the Jedi-wannabe.

"Well, send her over. Or do you need someone to meet her?" Mical asked.

"No, I've got a transport. Here, that's her," Atton said, holding the comm up so Mical could get a good look at Ven. If someone had to go looking for her, Atton someone else to know how to spot her. "I'm sending her as soon as I hang up."

"Good, she'll make twenty-two apprentices," Mical said thoughtfully.

"_How_ many?" Atton choked.

Mical gave a grim smile. "It seems no one hates the Jedi as much as previously believed. There have been many who wish to be Force sensitive. I don't believe the Council ever knew just how many potential Jedi were in the galaxy; they preferred not to train anyone who wasn't with them from a very young age. That was a mistake, I think. Also, the Republic had been fairly helpful, especially Admiral Onasi. I believe he wants the Jedi to return as much as any of us."

"Yeah, sure," Atton said quickly, wanting to be on his way as soon as possible, "I'll have her send you her ETA when she can."

"Very well. And Atton," Mical paused to make sure he had the scoundrel's attention, "You're not the only one who cares about her. We all do. Mical out."

Atton shut his comm off. Mical had seemed exhausted, but Atton supposed a Jedi was always tired. He doubted he had seen Case really sleep once, not that meditation-not-really-sleep crap that she, Visas, and Mical did. With a scowl he remembered all the time she would spend with him before he was a Jedi; their training sessions hadn't been his favorite times. And the last comment Mical made… Atton knew the rest cared for her. Many of them were misfits and would probably have died sooner rather than later had she not picked them up. And yet he believed it was not the same with all of them. He doubted any of the rest felt about her the way he did, and for that he was glad.

Tucking the comm away, Atton returned to Ven's table in the diner. She had just finished her food and was downing the rest of her juice. "Ready to go?" he asked, sliding into a seat.

"You have no idea," Ven sighed, glaring out the window at the bright sand.

"You'd be surprised."

"Who were you talking to?" she asked.

Atton eyed her droid as it swayed next to her, emitting random beeps that meant nothing. "The guy pulling the new Order together," he responded.

"You don't trust him," Ven said bluntly, observationally.

"He was trained by the same woman I was, so I trust her teachings at least," he replied gruffly. A moment of silence passed before he pushed away from the table and stood up. "Time to go; the pilot's going to meet us at the dock."

Ven rose without a word. Atton paid the bill for the food and strolled outside, the girl and droid following behind him. The pilot turned out to be a sullustan named Neen who had flown with the Republic during the Mandalorian Wars before finishing his term and retiring to roam the galaxy as he wished. Atton discretely searched him through the Force and was relieved to find no evidence of hostility or hidden intent; he made sure to go past the surface emotions, but not deep enough to let him know what was going on.

"Here's the agreed amount," Atton said, handing the money over.

Neen took and counted quickly, nodding in satisfaction. "Very good. Is this the passenger and her droid?" he said in perfect Basic.

"Yeah, this is her. Just remember that I paid for protection as well. If anything happens to her, I'll find you," Atton said. This declaration was not so much a threat as a statement of fact. Neen understood.

"Of course. Please follow me, Miss," Neen said, motioning for Ven to follow him aboard the ship.

Ven turned to Atton, her face calculating. "I can't say I'm sorry to leave you. Good luck with whatever you're doing, Jaq."

"It's Atton."

Giving a long look, Ven's face broke into a soft smile. "Yeah, I think it is." With that she turned and disappeared inside the ship. Minutes later they took off and shot into the sky, vanishing from view.

Atton gave the girl a last glance before he threw the Force out from him, searching for a single life. There it was, just as slippery as ever. He saw the gray in his mind and was reminded of Case, though her…what was it called? Signature in the Force… was gray with a tint of blue. Renai Rand was gray with a tint of red. Always had been, probably always would be. Turning on his heel, Atton left the dock and hurried to the outskirts of the settlement. There he knew he would find the little tent his mother had used on so many planets.

He found the tent without difficulty; the bright silver stars and swirling skies across the tough fabric were exactly as he remembered. His stomach sank; he had hated helping his mother with her "work." It was foolish to him as well as a waste of time; it didn't pay well, but his mother had made enough money to support herself and him.

There was a client inside, he knew. He didn't care about the interruption it would cause. When he let himself in, through the tent flaps, he saw that the client was a middle-aged man with dark hair. He was watching with rapt attention as Renai Rand moved her hands gracefully over the large, ornate crystal in front of her. The getup she wore was both haunting and ridiculous at the same time. It was a flowing robe and a turban with strange designs on both.

Atton shook his head at his mother, watching as she told some poor guy's fortune in exchange for too much money considering the make-believe futures she fortold. The man looked on, enthralled by the display Atton's mother was performing. She spoke in a loud, commanding voice as the "spirits" communicated through her.

After her little show, Renai waved goodbye to her patron before facing Atton, a frown on her face. He wondered if she would recognize him; it had been about ten years or more since they had last spoken. Her next words answered his silent question.

"Look at you," she snorted, "as unkempt as I remember. What have you been doing all these years, Jaq?"

Atton gave a half smile, thinking about the incredibly complex answer to that question. "Nothing much, Mom."

"I see you survived the war. Both wars, if my visions were correct," she said, rising from her chair as she began to remove her costume to reveal a set of fairly gaudy street clothes beneath. She had never been one to blend in when she didn't want to.

"More or less," he replied, glancing at the baubles and trinkets splayed across the room, no doubt to give the place the right atmosphere.

"What a stupid answer. I don't remember you being quite so nebulous. Though I suppose you never were one to answer anything straight," Renai recalled.

"I wonder where I got that from," Atton snorted.

"Certainly not your father," Renai said with contempt, "The man was an unlocked datapad his entire life. Anyone and everyone could poke around that empty head of his. Worst mistake I ever made, getting married."

"I remember, Mom. How is dad doing?" Atton asked, referring to the grave site just outside of the settlement. His father had passed away when he had been very small; he hardly remembered the old man.

"Just about like he was in life; dull and unmoving. _That_ you did get from your father. Not the dull part, but the stubbornness is worse than a Krayt dragon protecting its cache," she replied, pulling her gray hair free of the head wrap she had been wearing.

"Missed you too," Atton replied with a smile.

Renai stopped what she was doing and turned to face him, her eyes watching him disapprovingly. Suddenly her face broke into a smile as she held her arms out to Atton, who rose from his chair and enveloped his tiny mother in his arms. He remembered even when he was a boy no older than thirteen that she had been so much smaller than him, though that never gave him the impression he would be able to pull anything over on her.

"My boy's back," she said without much emotion, "Learn your lesson from joining the Republic? I told you it wouldn't end how you wanted it to."

Atton couldn't help but laugh at her words. "It sure as hell didn't," he chuckled.

Pulling back, Renai patted him absently on the cheek as she gathered her things from the tent. "Sandstorm's coming. You can explain that answer to me later. Don't just stand there, grab something and help me get it home," she barked at him.

Yes, it was good to be back, Atton thought sourly.

* * *

Review, please. It lets me know what I'm doing right or wrong. :)

Hey! I was in the middle of writing the fifth chapter (probably to be posted next weekend) and was watching Casablanca. I was just thinking about how Revan had work to do and told Carth that where she went he could not follow when BAM! Humphrey Bogart said to Ingrid Bergemen "Where I'm going you can't follow; what I've got to do you can't be any part of." Familiar? I think so!

I wonder if the writers for KotOR were Casablanca fans too. Hmmm... gives me something to think about.


	5. New Soul

Okay, this one is more normal in length. I'll try to keep them down in word count, but sometimes I get carried away. Next chapter: Case and Atton meet up again.

Please** review** even if it's a quick "Good!" or "Ew! What is wrong in your head, woman?" I need to know how I'm doing and what to change. :)

* * *

CHAPTER FIVE

Atton sat against the wall in the small, uncomfortable chair, watching his mother bustle about the little hut, putting her fortune telling getup away. She hadn't so much as glanced at him or said a word since he had appeared in her tent.

"We have to talk," he said.

"All you ever want to do is talk, Jaq. Action is so much better," Renai said sagely, grabbing a small lizard that crawled over her counter. She hit it on the wall, snapping its neck before dropping it into the trash.

Frowning as he stared at the sandstone floor, Atton tried again. "I killed a lot of people."

"Did you, now?" Renai asked disinterestedly grabbing a pick from her table. She began to clean her long, gem studded nails that reflected the odd yellow light of the room. "And why do you think that matters to me? You think I haven't killed my own share of beings? Everyone's responsible for at least one death, directly or indirectly. That's my philosophy."

"Interesting, and yet completely beside the point," Atton said as he bridged his fingers together.

"What do you want, Jaq? Some sort of forgiveness from me? Don't be a fool," Renai replied.

_Fool_. The word rang in Atton's ears and threw him back to older times. He grimaced at the thought of the old hag who was, thank the Force, dead. He firmly believed that the only good kind of witch was a dead one.

"I don't want forgiveness; I'm way past that. I just…need you to understand some things. Call it putting my past to rest or whatever you want," Atton said.

Renai gave him a hard look as she scraped the dirt out from her fingernails. "You don't care about the people you've killed. And you shouldn't. We all have to go sometime."

He didn't care, not really. But he should. Especially considering his new status as a Jedi. And yet there wasn't a feeling of guilt or remorse for any death but that of the Jedi who opened his mind.

"How have you been?" Atton asked, looking her up and down. She didn't look a day older than when he'd left, and yet there was a tiredness about her that worried him.

"Ridiculously healthy for a woman of my age. I can't seem to kick the habit of living," she replied, still looking at him with that piercing stare, "Another thing you get from my side of the family."

"You have no idea," Atton murmured. If he had a credit for every time someone had tried to kill him, he'd be a very rich man.

"Speak up if you're going to talk to me," Renai ordered.

Atton considered all he should tell her about his life and those whose lives he had ended. He should feel remorse; that was what a Jedi was supposed to feel, right? And yet there was nothing. If anything that dogged sense of pride still filled him; he had been able to do what so few others had accomplished. He had killed Jedi, a lot of them, and he was good at it.

An epiphany struck him squarely at his core, shaking loose every new conception he had developed. There was no reversing what he had done. He wasn't changing, at least not that much. Death didn't bother him when there was a purpose behind it, even if that purpose wasn't in line with his own thinking. Perhaps he would be able to care more, but for him to completely reverse himself? Impossible. People didn't change, not really. They moved on to new things, but at their center they were who they had always been, and Atton Rand was no different.

"The past doesn't matter," Atton said forcefully, "It's over. I want you to know what I'm doing with the present."

Renai dropped the pick and walked up to him, taking his hands in hers. They were rough and small, swallowed entirely by his bigger palms. "I've missed you," she said.

"Same here," Atton replied quietly, "But things have changed. I'm not Jaq."

"Then who are you?" Renai asked humorously, a smile curling the corners of her mouth.

"I'm Atton Rand, at your service," Atton replied, attempting to keep the atmosphere light as long as possible.

"Are you? Why?" Renai asked when she realized he was serious.

"I… got the chance to escape from what I was doing, and I ran. Jaq died a long time ago, killed by a Jedi. And I killed her," he answered.

"Good; Jedi aren't to be trusted, you know that. I can't tell you the number of times I've seen their acts of "charity" for what they were. Nothing more than squirming lies buried deep in the dark," Renai spat.

"Then you're going to love the rest of this," Atton said, preparing himself for her head to explode. "I'm a Jedi."

A beat of silence floated across the room, sucking even the noise of the sandstorm out of the air as Atton waited for her reaction, knowing full well that his mother would rather marry a hutt than have him be any sort of Jedi, light or otherwise.

Frowning, Renai's eyes narrowed. "I don't understand."

Atton gritted his teeth, knowing the storm that was to come was one able to beat the raging sand outside the hut. "I'm a Jedi. She, this Jedi…trained me and a few others. We're rebuilding the Order. Well, they are. I'm trying to—"

"Don't lie to me. I would have seen it if you'd done any such thing," she growled, gripping his hands tighter.

Sighing, Atton forced himself to go on. "No, you wouldn't. The woman who trained me is… different. It's hard to see her through the Force."

"Don't be an idiot. You mean to tell me she hid you from my sight," Renai demanded.

"Basically, yes."

Renai snarled as she pulled her hands away from Atton. Her scowl bore a hole into him with its intensity as she began to pace across the room, shooting glares at him every few seconds. Atton watched her, unperturbed by her actions; he had grown used to her antics during adolescence.

"What were you thinking?" she hissed, finally coming to a halt in front of him.

Atton sat calmly, resting his elbows on his knees as he leaned forward. "I wasn't thinking," he responded honestly and without regret.

"She's a _Jedi_, Atton," Relai snarled.

"Yeah, she is."

"No! I won't let you…"

Raising his eyebrows, Atton waited for Relai to explain her outburst. Her face was livid as she watched him, angry color rushing to her face. She stepped forward and reached a hand toward him, caught herself, and then let it drop.

"No," she whispered fiercely.

"Why." It was not a question; he knew she would tell him.

"I can see you with her, trapped forever. That is _not_ what I raised you for!" Renai shouted. Her anger melted away to reveal sorrowful pity. "Why would you give up freedom for the life of a Jedi. _With_ a Jedi? You know what they're like. Nothing they do is what it seems. You _know_."

"What she does for people is for them alone, mother," Atton said, leaning back against his chair, legs extended comfortably, "I still can't figure out why she cares so much."

Renai barked a grim laugh. "Have you become so foolish? That path leads to death. You don't want to die, I can see it," she said.

"Of course I don't," Atton grunted, "But that doesn't mean I won't die for her."

Her anger flared once again. "Idiot! Why would you do such a thing? Is her hold so strong that you can't break free?"

"I'm not 'breaking free' of anything," Atton shot back, leaning forward once more.

"Do you really think she would do the same for you? Give her life," Renai said quietly, intensely.

Scowling, Atton replied, "She risks her life everyday for everyone, not just me. And she did risk her life when she let me get close. Not many Jedi live that long around me."

"Then you should have killed her!" Renai barked. Then, clenching her jaw to control herself, she continued. "A Jedi's life is sacrifice, everyone knows that, "Renai snapped, "I meant would she give up the life she is leading for you, as you did the one you led?"

Atton laughed a hard laugh at the idea that what he had been doing before Case found him could be counted as any sort of life. It was living death. "You're assuming I actually gave something up to be with her. I didn't; she gave me everything when she chose to train me."

"She led you to your downfall," Renai objected.

"I couldn't have sunk any lower," Atton growled.

"You were free!"

"I was _dead_!"

"Why would you give everything up for _her_?!"

Atton surged off his chair to his feet. "Because she's the only thing standing between the galaxy and the Sith! If she wasn't here, none of us would be! If I have to die protecting the most important thing in the galaxy, I will."

The blood drained from Renai's face as she watched the face of her son darken with determination. She knew he was gone forever; the Jedi had taken him and would never return him. For that she hated the woman, and for that she thanked her. Renai turned slowly and moved to the window, staring out at the sand raging in the air, buffeting the homes and buildings of Tatooine.

"And you're certain?" she asked quietly.

"Yes. That's why I'm here; I can't protect her if I don't fix what's left of me," Atton replied. Then, with a grim, crooked smile, "But I think I'm past that stage. There's not much left to fix."

Renai ran her nails along her thin arms, staring off into oblivion. "I should have seen this. I could have stopped it."

"Mother," Atton said, frustrated with her "feelings" and "visions."

"You don't believe in what I can do. Never did, I suppose. And after all you've seen, you still don't think it's possible," she said with a small smile. "Then tell me this: how do I know you hate the blond boy for loving her?"

Atton froze. "How…do you know about him," he asked, his voice feeling thick and sticky in his throat.

"The same way I know that she went to follow Revan on some sort of mission…quest…thing," Renai said with an careless wave of her hand, "And the same way I can see that you got arrested on Telos for destroying Peragus." She frowned at him. "If that's the kind of wave that Jedi makes in the galaxy…"

Sitting in stunned silence, Atton tried to make sense of his mother's knowledge. A second epiphany hit him harder than the first: his mother was Force sensitive. For all her hate of the Jedi and contempt for all things to do with the Force, she could feel it, use it to see the present, past, and future. Selectively, but she could still do it.

The possibility of mentioning that to her, or offering her a way to use it was out of the question; anything associated with Jedi was taboo for Renai, and that was not going to change soon. And yet the mere thought that his mother wasn't the crazy con artist he had believed her to be was enough to make his head spin. Well, she was, but not quite as insane.

"Jaq, you can't go back if you choose this," Renai said harshly, "That'll be the end. This is your turning point."

"Cryptic words. Ironic for someone who hates Jedi," Atton joked.

Renai frowned. "If you were smart, you would too."

"Well, you know me," Atton said, falling back into his chair and crossing his ankles lazily, his arms folded behind his head.

"Yes…I do," she said, speaking slowly and thoughtfully, "which is why I know you're gone."

"Mom…" Atton began, rising to his feet.

"You're in love with her," she said, her tone flat.

Atton didn't answer. He watched his mother's eyes lose focus; normally that signaled one of her visions, which would irritate him to no end. This time he knew better. "What?" he asked when she looked at him again.

"You care too much about her. I am sorry. You are going to lose her," Renai whispered, her eyes clouding over as she saw the state of the Jedi Exile.

"What?!" Atton demanded, grabbing his mother by the shoulders to swing her around. Renai looked at him sadly. Atton snarled at her in his panic. "Where is she? What's going on?"

"She is on Xent, a planet far outside civilized worlds. You know which planet that is. If you do not reach her in four days, she will be gone from you forever. If you want her, go get her. We'll have more time to talk later if we both survive," Renai intoned, brushing past her son and disappearing into her room.

"Kark," Atton swore, grabbing his bag as he ran out into the storm without a second thought.

XXXXX

"Roanoke, Case," the comm gargled from the wall. Case opened her eyes and stood just as the door opened to reveal another porter, which she had discovered was an officer who helped keep the system running. She had returned several hours before from her horrible experience in the testing room; she doubted there had ever been a time of greater confusion in her life. And apparently she had record low score. _All in a day's work_, she thought wryly to herself.

"Follow me," he said, leaving the room.

Case obeyed, walking after him. She was joined by the rest of the girls of marriageable age, most of whom she was older than, and all of them were led to a high-ceilinged chamber to join a large group of young men. Case was willing to bet they were all around eighteen as well. They were instructed to line up in two lines, single file, men in one column and the women in the other.

The room they were led to was smooth metal that reflected their appearances; a large metal door stood at the end of the chamber. Case noticed for the first time that the rest were decked in fancy clothing and a few jewels. Some even had makeup on.

Her own appearance was somewhat less impressive; her hair was in a loose tail and stuck out like a mynock had been chewing on her head, her face was haggard, and her clothing was wrinkled chaotically. The thought cheered her immensely; with such a low score and bad looks, there was no way someone would choose her! Unless the system worked so that everyone was chosen… the happy balloon of hope in her belly deflated with a cruel pop.

"Wait here. The Standing will begin shortly. The perspectives are arriving as we speak," the porter said.

Case leaned over to a guy next to her and whispered, "What's a Standing?" It sounded as though the word had a capital "S" for importance. "And what's a perspective?"

The boy looked at her like she had sprouted a second nose and turned away. Irritation made Case antsy; she fought the urge to dance from foot to foot, beginning to get angry about the whole situation. No one would _talk _to her! She hated feeling frustrated and stressed, which were the exact emotions taking over her at the moment. _There is no emotion, there is peace_, she recited, calling on her old Jedi training for help and at the same time cursing the Jedi who decided to train her.

At that moment the door opened, revealing the entrance to an immense room beyond. A raised walkway could be seen waiting for them to make their grand entrances into their new lives, and having them parade like six-legged monkeys for a crown seemed to be inevitable judging from the platform. Case was livid. She _would_ get out of it. The right moment just hadn't come yet. That was how her luck worked; despair until the last second when an opportunity arrived. She hoped to the Force that hadn't changed.

XXXXX

"Is this something that happens regularly enough that it should concern me?" Thayne asked Revan as they stared at the barrels of the blaster rifles aimed between their eyes.

"Fairly regular," Revan replied, "But don't worry your pretty little head. I'll get us out."

They had finally gotten off of the planet only to be picked up by twi'lek pirates bent on capturing a dignitary. They weren't happy when they found out Revan and Thayne were nobodies. The pirates' response had been to point ten rifles at the "imposter's" heads. With that many energy bolts shot at them their brains would get mushier than a scrambled egg.

"How do you normally get out of something like this?" Thayne asked, eyeing the blasters trained on him.

Revan hesitated; normally she would sent a Force Wave breaking over them, but that was out of the question while Thayne was around. Unless she could incapacitate him first, but to do that with ten blasters aimed at her would be tricky. And yet she felt confident she could do it. The worst that could happen was that she knocked him unconscious and they would kill her and then him. Who would know? No one, that's who, so there wouldn't be any legal problems.

In a single move that took less than half a second, Revan had flung her hand out, knocking Thayne into oblivion and slamming the pirates against the wall, their impacts echoing through the ship with a series of painful thuds. She snarled as three got back up, sending the Force rocketing into them. They flew back and collided with the metal containers behind them, and that time they did not rise.

They were alive, but would be out for a while and probably wouldn't walk the same again. Revan knelt down to check on Thayne; his vitals were good, but he would have one frakking ache in his head when he woke.

Revan yelped as something dark clawed at her back, sending waves of shivers down her spine. She stood quickly, gazing around the ship through the Force. There it was, hulking in the bowls of the ship. They had found her.

_You got what you wanted: me on the ship. Let's go, then,_ Revan said to it.

_Poor little lost one. We know._

_What do you know?_ She asked cautiously.

_You._

_How very descriptive of you._

_We know what you are, and what you are not. You are not a Jedi, and you are not a Sith. You never fell, Revan. They all said you fell to the dark side, but that is not so, is it?_

A chill wound around Revan's mind. They wanted in. She pushed them back forcefully.

_Your choices were not driven by the Force or by teachings of fools. It was always you. No matter what cloak you wore in front of others, it was _always_ you. The imbecilic Jedi did not change you, no. They simply stripped away what covered you, and you went to war to stop a threat that no one else perceived or could understand. You became a dark lord to save the galaxy. Those devoted to the light could not do what had to be done. You know this. You have seen it, felt it, _done_ what they could not._

Despair resounded in Revan and she heard the hiss of the voice. And she knew that it spoke the truth. But that was not important at the moment. She had to get Thayne out, and yet here was an opportunity to confront those who she hunted. She moved forward through the hall.

_Perhaps I just like power. It was always attractive to me. If you know me as you say, you should be able to see that._

The thing hissed in her head. _Power? Surely you do not expect such a simple answer to suffice, Revan. Not you of all people. It is never just about power, you know this. It is what's behind the power that matters; the reason for wanting it. You are not a fool too greedy for her own good. You have seen what there is and what needs to be done._

_I'm so glad you see it that way. Now, you need to die, so hold still for a minute while I get my saber._

An amused crackle poked at Revan's mind as she began creeping through the halls, moving closer to the dark tumor pervading the galaxy. One of them, at least.

_So strong and so weak. One such as you should do great and terrible things, Revan. And yet you do not know who you are; what you are. _

_Who I am is not important – my message is. And my message is that you'd better run with your tail or whatever you have between your legs, because when I reach you, you will die._

_You were a dark lord, a Jedi, and a simple Republic scout; you have been all things, Revan. You know both sides of the Force and of life. There is no one who can end things but you. The question is this: how will you finish them? You belong with us; you are a part of us. You know. We can see it in you._

Revan reached a magnetically sealed door blocking her from her target. Frustration flared through her. It was _always_ a stupid magnetic lock that stopped her. She cursed whoever invented the idiotic lock and wished for them to turn purple with orange spots and fall into a bottomless pit. Then she began to inspect the lock for imperfections she could exploit.

_Revan._

_Shut up,_ Revan snipped as she focused on the door. It was about time she did something about the confounding mechanism. She hoped her skills were developed enough to make her plan work.

_Our empire is one that cannot be destroyed by mere mortal beings. And yet you are something entirely different. When we felt you awaken, we knew the danger you posed. And the potential you held. You will see, eventually. Wait and see, Revan, wait for it._

_Get out of my head and face me like a Sith. Oh, wait, you are! Hiding like a worm in the ground when the fight is out in the open. Let me in if you're so confident._ She hissed at them.

_Not yet, little Jedi, not yet. You will know when the time is right. Just wait…just wait. Come find us… look for us where slavery is life. Just as you are enslaved by all life._

_Pretty cryptic words for Sith spawn,_ Revan snarled.

Revan felt the dark slip away, evaporating into nothing. She cursed silently and slammed her palm into the door. Her fingers clutched at the metal. With a scream of bending metal, the door was wrenched out of its holdings. The room beyond echoed with emptiness, as if the life had been sucked out of it. And it had. That was what the True Sith did; they emptied the life around them. The only difference between them and Nihilus was their relative control over it.

She felt a wave of dizziness hit her from expending the Force unintentionally like that, but it had destroyed the door. A little flit of pride tickle her ribs as she looked down at her handiwork before turning back to where the True Sith had hidden.

"Shayla?" came a call through the hallway.

"Here," she shouted, not taking her eyes off the dark corner of the storage room that had held the Sith just moments before.

She heard Thayne's footsteps behind her and felt him reel slightly from the emptiness of the air around him. He quickly regrouped and walked to stand next to her.

"What happened to them?" he asked, jerking his thumb behind him. He glanced around the empty room with a critical eye. "And why are you standing in a storage closet?"

"They tried to knock me out, but I resisted. They got you, sorry. I was thrown in here when I fought back. I heard a lot of noise, and then the door exploded. Go figure," Revan said quietly, turning away from the corner.

Thayne turned back to the door, his face skeptical, but he chose not to question it. "Right. So what do we do now?"

"Let's check the crew."

"They're alive. Unconscious, but alive," Thayne said, "It's as though someone cracked their heads on the bulkhead and left them there."

"Really?" Revan said, perfectly imitating surprise and curiosity.

"Come see for yourself."

The scene was how Revan had left it; the pirates were slammed against the wall or slumped onto the floor in uncomfortable positions. "This is…strange," she said.

"Well, odd things seem to tail you, don't they," Thayne said neutrally.

"I think this is the whole crew," Revan observed, counting the twi'leks. It wasn't a large ship, and the number would be more than adequate to keep the ship up and running.

"Don't I feel special; they were all here to greet us," Thayne muttered, kicking one of the fallen pirates.

"Well, let's tie them up and dump them off the ship. I think they can all fit into one escape pod, don't you?" Revan said, flashing Thayne a toothy grin. "I can fly us out of here after that," Revan said, reaching for the binders on one pirate's belt.

"You're going to fly this ship? It's a four person job at least," Thayne objected, reaching down to bind another pirate.

"What can I say? I'm a talented individual," Revan said, her grin cocky.

"And so humble, too. It's astonishing that you've managed to avoid hubris so well," Thayne replied, his tone sarcastic, moving on to bind another twi'lek.

"Save your negativity for when we don't have several unconscious, blood-lusting pirates to get rid of, will you?" Revan said, tying up the last of the pirates.

Thayne stopped what he was doing and looked over at Revan. "Please tell me you're an only child and that there aren't any other women like you. Please," he pleaded.

A certain Jedi popped into Revan's head at the mention of "women like her." There was at least one, but she was long lost. "No, there aren't any more like me," she replied.

"My chances for survival are looking up," he joked.

"E chu ta," Revan swore, holding a datapad she found in the pocket of one of the twi'lek.

"Hey!" Thayne protested, halting his transport of a pirate over to the escape pod room.

"Not you," Revan snapped, locked on the words dancing before her eyes.

"Then what is it? And where did you pick up such a nasty hutt phrase—"

"We're being followed."

"What?"

"This is an order for bounty on us. I guess they did have a use for us. I would have double-checked for any money on a couple strays," Revan mused, tapping the datapad screen thoughtfully, "but who wants us dead?" She glanced up at Thayne inquisitively.

There was any number of organizations or individuals who wanted her to die. Narrowing it down would be like finding a security tunneler in a scrap pile. But that wasn't important at the moment. _Where slavery is life_… she knew exactly where to go now. It was a relief.

"Don't look at me," Thayne said with a frown, "Everyone who wanted me dead _is_ dead. Or thinks I am."

"You're not going to explain that, I gather."

"Not a chance."

"Fine. Put these last two in and we'll ship them off to the nearest planet," Revan said.

"One condition," Thayne said, holding up a hand to stop her.

"What's that?" she asked, annoyed by the delay.

"I get to drive. You scared the hell out of me with that stunt on the track."

"Your poor palpitating heart couldn't handle it, huh?" she said with a smirk.

"I like having my heart beat, thanks," he shot back, pushing the last of the pirates into the pod before shutting the door.

* * *

I know, not a whole lot of action in that one. I just needed to set up some stuff. Next time we see a furious Case at the marriage auction and Revan heads for her new target. I'm thinking about bringing Carth into the story. Let me know what you think.

ALSO: Case and Atton finally meet up again!


	6. Burning Uncertainty

Okay, I tried to get this one up as soon as I could. **I probably won't be able to update very quickly next time.** I have a crazy week ahead of me. I've got speeches and papers and stuff to get ready for finals. Oh, and my grandpa is turning 88 tomorrow! Happy birthday, Grandpa!

I'll try to get the next chapter out as fast as I can, but it'll be rough. And I'm getting down to the last weeks before finals. We all know how fun those are.

Once again, sorry about this one being a little too long. I've got issues, I guess. :) Enjoy!

Oh, and please review. I like to know how I'm doing. One word works fine.

* * *

CHAPTER SIX

Revan skipped across the ship to the cockpit, feeling like she was skating on air. Thayne glared at her when she danced into the room, his eyes slightly bloodshot from lack of sleep the night before. For some reason he hated being in hyperspace, but Revan loved it. She loved the speed, the feel, the blue of the tunnel, everything. If she could always travel in hyperspace, she would never get bored.

There was a thing that had developed with her over time; a sort of headache that never quite went away. It throbbed dully some time and at others it felt as though her head would split straight down the middle. Being in hyperspace helped to relieve the pressure; she believed it was something with the speed, for swoop racing helped as well. In fact… it had developed after her first "encounter" with the True Sith. Like they were always in her head and the speed made them fall behind just for a bit.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Thayne growled as she punching a button on the console when a light began to flash.

"I'm not sure we have enough time to go over the list of things wrong with me," Revan said as she draped herself languidly across the co-pilot's chair, her dark hair spilling over her shoulders. She absently twirled a bit of it around her finger as she waited for Thayne to explode.

"We're up to our frontonasal sutures in illegal spice and you're making jokes. That's just great," Thayne muttered, kicking the bottom of the control panel with his foot to still it as it began to rattle annoyingly with the movement of the ship.

He had been a little edgy when they had discovered the cargo hold full of drugs, Revan recalled. She hadn't thought much of it, probably because she was used to flying the Ebon Hawk, which was technically a smuggling ship specializing in spice. And she and her crew had had a whole case of it flying around the galaxy with them. But that had been the least of their worries.

"Speaking of jokes," Revan began excitedly, "How many Sith does it take to screw in a hyperdrive?"

"You don't _screw in_ a hyperdrive," Thayne picked at her.

"Two, but I have no idea how they got in!" Revan finished, laughing.

When Thayne didn't laugh in return, Revan frowned at him. "Get it? They're on the ship when they shouldn't be…they're always popping up without warning…never mind. Carth would get it," she finished in a mutter.

Thayne perked up. "Who's Carth?"

Slight shock hit Revan's spine. She silently cursed herself as she scrambled for a way out. "Someone with more of a sense of humor than you, but that could describe anybody," Revan jabbed.

"No, really, who is he? A friend of yours?" Thayne asked with interest.

"Planet," Revan interrupted, pointing at the monitor.

Thayne swung around just in time for the ship to drop out of hyperspace about a click away from the large, black and green planet.

"Don't think we're done with this," he warned, flipping beginning to prepare for landing.

"No! Don't get too close. We need to go around back," Revan said, thinking quickly.

Cocking an eyebrow, Thayne said sardonically, "Yes, I'll just go around back of the _round_ planet, which in fact has no sides."

"I mean the settlement," Revan snapped, rising from her seat to stand next to him, her eyes scanning the planet. If she remembered correctly, they could circle around a few degrees to the left and avoid detection. The last time she had been there it had worked. But then nothing worked the same way for her as everyone else.

"Why didn't you take him with you?" Thayne asked suddenly.

"What?" Revan said absently, punching in coordinates in the console. She brushed irately at her hair falling over her shoulders. It obscured her view terribly; perhaps a cut was in order, but that would have to wait.

"Carth. Why didn't you take him?"

"Take him where?" Revan asked impatiently, turning away from the planet to glare at him.

Shrugging, Thayne replied, "I don't know. Here, I guess. To wherever it is you're trying to get. You wanted him with you, so why isn't he here?"

Revan's eyes hardened as she studied the scruffy man in front of her. Warning bells reverberated around her skull as she mulled over his question; there was something off about him, something that would come back to bite her later if she didn't find out what it was.

"I didn't want him to die," she responded finally, waving her hand at him to get out of the pilot's seat.

Thayne rose and stood off to the side as Revan plopped down in the seat and seized the controls. "Why," he asked slowly, "would he die?"

"Anyone who fights along with me is going to die with me as well," she said darkly. She guided the ship forward, coasting gently until they neared the tops of the huge, dark green trees.

XXXXX

Atton slammed his hand into the console as he was pulled into the planet in the tractor beam. Growling in frustration, he hurried to get things ready before he was inevitably arrested. His luck wouldn't have things any other way. But the same luck would get him out of whatever he got into. He and luck were old friends and rivals; that relationship wasn't going to change anytime soon.

The ship landed quickly and smoothly. Immediately a silky voice ordered Atton to disembark to meet the authorities of the planet Xent. With his two lightsabers tucked safely away in his signature ribbed jacket, Atton strolled out to meet them. Standing in front of him were three men, all of whom had nearly identical features though different skin pigments. Atton shook his head, disbelieving that things could get any weirder for him. And yet there were three near-clones staring at him like he had just crawled out of the gutter.

"Am I correct in assuming you are traveling alone?" one of them asked, his voice weary.

Atton cocked an eyebrow at his tone. "That's right."

"Then you will have to be bound," the man said with a sigh.

"Bound?" Atton asked, getting a bad feeling about the situation.

"Marriage," was the quick reply.

"What?!" he choked.

"Please do not fight us. We have had enough trouble with the woman who came before you. Is it a custom in the other parts of the galaxy to display such impudence?" the man asked without venom.

Woman… Atton's heart raced. If they had found a woman and she was giving them trouble, who else could it be? "This…woman, what's her name?" Atton asked.

"I cannot tell you that. Please, the next Standing is very soon, and you must complete your trials before you are allowed to be bound," the man said, an impatient edge on his voice.

"Just tell me, did she come with two droids? Her ship is called the _Ebon Hawk_," Atton pushed.

With another tired sigh, the man nodded. "Yes, that is her."

Atton felt adrenaline spike in his system; he was so close. But… marriage…? "Wait. Is she bound?" Could that have been what his mother meant? He silently cursed her lack of details as he waited for a reply. It was just like her to let him think some rancor was chewing on her neck when really she was just in a legal dilemma. Not that he wanted her married; damn near made his blood boil thinking about it.

"Not yet, but she is participating in the Standing. Which occurs very soon," he emphasized, "And so if you are to be bound, we must hurry."

"Fine," Atton said with a shrug. Whatever a Standing was, it didn't sound too bad. How much trouble could someone get into just standing?

"Follow me."

For the next two hours, Atton gave them his information (the correct information, for apparently they could tell if he lied, and to his slight chagrin they proved it) and taking their trials. Once he had completed them he approached the porter who waited to finalize his score.

"What's the damage?" Atton asked with a half grin.

"Excuse me?" the woman asked severely, her voice thick with an accent he didn't recognize.

With a shake of his head, Atton waved his comment off and asked about his score.

"You did… very well," the porter said, clearly displeased, "for an offworlder."

"Really?" Atton asked incredulously. He gave a cocky grin. "I guess that's not so surprising. What's the score?"

The porter hesitated for a moment. "It is 182," she said.

One of the strange, swinging doors opened to reveal the man who had "greeted" Atton at the dock; he entered the room, his face dark. Xenalus, Atton had discovered his name was.

"You have passed with remarkable marks," Xenalus said slowly, "And so you will not be a Chosen."

"And that means…?"

"You will not be chosen by anyone. Please follow me and I will explain your options and your duty," Xenalus said with a slight bow.

Atton nodded and followed him out of the room, wondering what half-baked rule they would throw at him this time. In the past few hours he had discovered that apparently "Pallo" demanded that all people of childbearing age be married and… get to it. So what else they could hit him with was beyond him. He tried to remember if Case had mentioned anything so cockeyed about the Force, but couldn't seem to recall. But then he never really paid that much attention to her philosophy lessons. The lightsaber forms were much more interesting to him.

"This way," Xenalus said, indicating an empty room.

If it would help him get to Case, Atton would play along. He had no intention of getting married, and a lifetime of getting out of tough places would help him if worse came to worse. His face hardened in determination; he would do what needed to be done to save Case from whatever she was facing. Until that threat was assessed and destroyed, Atton would be ready for any crazy crisis that came.

XXXXX

Case gritted her teeth until they felt about ready to shatter. Forcing her feet to move one after the other, she forced herself to walk through the doorway, her vision being met with hoards of men and women. She felt the apprehension of the others being put up for matrimony as they approached their prospecting mates, all of whom were scanning their options critically, objectively to find the best mate for themselves.

The room they had been directed to a couple rows of small stools standing in the middle of the room with enough space around them that prospective husbands could circle the woman, checking her over for any imperfections.

At the end, separated slightly from the rest, were several metal stands that looked fancier than the ordinary wood ones; those, Case assumed, were reserved for the worthy women, those who met the ideals of the society. She was not among them. Every stool had a small plaque attached to it, symbols littering its surface; Case was not yet close enough to read them.

Careful to avoid anyone's stare, Case allowed herself to be led to one of the stools. She stepped up and stood awkwardly as dozens of eyes raked over her body with no regard for anything but finding something they liked. Noticing for the first time that she was situated at the very end of the line, Case saw that most of the men who came to look at her were old or very incapable seeming.

So she was a bargain bride; cute. The very _bottom_ of the bargain spouses too, it seemed, if she was reading the ranking right. Farther to the right the person was the more valuable and eligible they were.

Glancing down at her own stool she looked at the little sign attached to it. As best she could, she read the thing upside down, doubting anyone would let her get off to take a look at it. The first line was her full name, Casey Roanoke. The rest she could not read, as it was in whatever language they spoke on the planet. Galactic Basic seemed be a third or fourth language for the people, if they spoke it that was.

Scanning the room in an attempt to find someone who looked as though they would be easy to escape from – and hopefully catch their eye – Case found herself staring at a man standing a ways off from her. He was looking at her like she had yet be looked at on the fracking planet; without disgust. His gaze was not fixed on her feminine body parts, but on her face. She did not glance away as he stared, even as she felt a blush creep up her neck.

The man began to walk toward her, swerving through the crowd with ease. Most moved out of his way without a second thought. Case noticed how he was dressed; mostly in black with some silver trimming to his tunic and robe. His skin was brown and free from any blemish, while his eyes were a light gray that complimented his jet-black hair perfectly. In short, he was beautiful.

Next to her, Case heard the twitters of excitement from a few women. Even the men seemed to look up and take notice as the stranger approached. But when the man glanced at them, all eyes left him and focused on something out of his way. That made Case more nervous than anything; there were only two reasons someone would give a person that much deference. Either he was extremely good and important, or he was incredibly evil and important. Neither gave her much hope of escape.

He stopped short of her by a couple meters, his eyes still locked on hers. His hand rose gracefully to her face, brushing a piece of hair off of her forehead to tuck it behind her ear. His fingers slid gently down her neck as he removed his hand, causing Case to shiver slightly. Just being around him was nearly intoxicating, though whether or not in a good way she was not sure.

"You're a different one, aren't you?" he murmured, seemingly to himself.

Case said nothing, hoping he would move on to someone else. What would someone like him want with someone at the end of the line? There was no sense in it, and from the furtive glances of those around them, she guessed everyone else was thinking the exact same thing. And yet the man paid no attention to them as he searched Case's face, but for what she didn't know.

"Let me see your hands," he said, his tone leaving no room for refusal.

Unable to think of a good reason to object, Case extended her right hand, palm down. His large hand swallowed it as he grasped it gently, turning it so that he could see her palm. His thumb traced the lines from her fingertips to the heel of her hand, sending tendrils of something not entirely unpleasant through Case's spine. She saw him frown as he came across the hardened calluses there.

"You're not from this planet," he observed, "Where did you come from?"

"I am from here. I was a servant until my father paid off his debts," Case recited, remembering what the officials had told her to say.

The man smiled patiently at her. "You are lying to me. Very well, you were no doubt threatened with terrible things to prevent you from telling me the truth. It is understandable that you submit to such formidable individuals as these porters," he said.

Case blinked at him; she realized with a small shock that he was _mocking_ her, goading her even.

"Come now," he said softly, "tell me where you are from."

_Go space yourself,_ Case thought irately. She jumped slightly as the man laughed a low, entertained laugh, his eyes shining with amusement.

"There is fire in your soul," he said admiringly.

"It's heartburn," Case muttered.

The man smiled a small smile of amusement as he began to circle her. Case stood stock still, her fists clenching of their own accord. She hated being on display, and even more when it was by someone who could actually have a chance at reading her. This man was capable of that, she had no doubt.

Cautiously, she reached out with a minute tendril of the Force toward the man, probing at his mind. To her surprise she felt nothing, like he wasn't there. His head snapped around, glaring into the crowds as she quickly let go of the Force. He had felt her, she was sure. But judging from his severe glare into the throng of people, he had not been able to tell where the probe came from.

"You are in amazing physical shape," he observed, finally turning away from the crowd. Relief washed through her; she wasn't caught. Who knew what they would do if they found out she was a Jedi. Or at least used to be one.

"It's all the floor scrubbing," Case said blandly.

"Of course," he said absently, coming around her other side, a smile touching his mouth. "Tell me," he said softly, "Do you want to be a bride?" His hand reached once again for her face.

Case jerked away from him automatically. She felt herself slip from the stool, falling back. Two strong arms caught her and hoisted her back up to a standing position, the hands lingering briefly on her waist. She whipped her head around to see…

"Atton!" she exclaimed, feeling her body go numb with shock. For a moment she simply stood there dumbly, staring at him with wide, astounded at his unexpected appearance. And at that moment the how didn't matter as much as the fact that he was standing in front of her.

Happiness flowed through her as she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close, unable to believe he was there. How the frack had he found her? After a moment's hesitation, he hugged her in return, saying nothing. She didn't care; he was there with her. Breathing in, she smelled his familiar scent of leather and machines, two things she loved at that moment more than anything in the worlds.

"I believe it is customary to wait your turn," the man in black said evenly.

Case felt Atton's hands on her waist again, but this time they were pushing her away. She released him reluctantly, but she was happy to be able to look at him fully. He was much the same on the outside, and yet something told her that something had changed within him, but she had no clue what yet. And she never would if that guy took her for his… bride. She shivered at the thought. His hand gently brushed against her cheekbone, his eyes intense on hers.

"Somethin' up?" Atton asked her quietly, his mouth quirked in a small smile. He pulled back slowly, standing half a meter away.

"You know her," the man said, his tone questioning.

"Yes. I knew her back when she was a… servant," Atton replied.

He shot her a quick look as he spoke; it was half amusement and half incredulity, no doubt at what she had gotten herself into; apparently he had also heard her fibs about her past… She grimaced at him, wondering if a day would ever come when she didn't fall into predicaments left and right. Probably the day she died, and even then there was no guarantee.

"I see. And yet I must insist you wait your turn for speculation," the man said.

"I don't intend to consider her," Atton said, crossing his arms over his chest.

Damn straight he didn't, Case thought to herself. _That_ would be a disaster.

"Oh?" the man asked, one eyebrow delicately arched in surprise.

"No. I'll take her," Atton replied flippantly.

"_What?_" Case exclaimed, rounding on Atton.

A porter walked up at Atton's affirmation of his choice, a datapad clutched in his hands, ready to take down the information needed to make the agreement legal. Case stared at Atton, outraged at what he was doing. Her hands clenched into fists as she imagined them colliding with the side of his head with as much force as she could muster. And Force, too.

"I also wish to make a bid," the man said, his voice utterly serene as he gazed at Case with intense eyes.

"_What?_" Case repeated, horrified.

"Yes, Lord Virote," the porter said obligingly, "I shall check your rankings."

"Wait, what does that mean?" Case asked wildly, panic setting in. She didn't _want_ to get married. She was an ex-Jedi for Force's sake.

Lord Virote stood silently, his stance confident. Atton stood taller, his shoulders squared toward the lord, his eyes daring. Case wanted to slap them both, forgetting for a moment that her freedom depended on the outcome. And yet she wouldn't be free no matter what if she was forced to wed one of them. She didn't care if a prince wanted her hand; marriage wasn't in her future. And whoever tried to make her wouldn't _have_ a future.

The porter hesitated as his datapad beeped softly. His body tensed inexplicably. Case sensed more bad news coming at her like a mad bull katarn on a rampage. Her bad feeling was proved to be accurate when the porter uttered six words that made the whole situation much more complicated.

"You're ranks are equal, my lord," the porter said quietly.

Betraying nothing of his reaction in his continence or his voice, Lord Virote spoke softly, "Is that so?"

"So neither of them win?" Case asked hopefully, praying that she would be allowed to go on her way.

"You don't have to deny your feelings for me anymore, Case," Atton said mock seriously.

"Shut up," she snapped, listened eagerly to the porter.

"No. Now they may either withdraw or submit to the trials," the porter explained, looking nervously at the two tall men in front of him as they stared each other down.

"More trials? What is wrong with your fracking system," Case snarled. She felt the material of the stool under her feet bend as her anger rippled out through the Force.

"I don't understand," the porter replied.

"Forget it," she muttered.

"Their sense of humor is like shade on Tatooine," Atton said to her, "It doesn't exist."

Lord Virote turned to the porter and said something to him in their native tongue. The porter replied quickly, his words streaming like water from a fountain, sounding apologetic as he spoke. Case tried in vain to make any of it out. Atton also looked a bit curious as to what was being said. How could he look so calm? He turned to her and winked cockily, causing Case to glare threateningly at him. He merely grinned and turned his attention back to the lord and the porter.

"This man has taken the rank trials and passed in the top level, very nearly equal to Lord Virote," the porter said in Galactic Basic, "And so they will engage in the trials for matrimony in three days time. Until then you will be retained."

"In Basic, please," Case snapped.

"I was speaking Basic," the porter said, confused.

"I meant, what do you mean by 'retained'?" Case clarified.

"Because of his heritage, Lord Virote has the honor of hosting you in his home until the conclusion of the trials," the porter said. Case's horrified exclamation of protestation was interrupted as the porter continued. "The winner of the trial will have the right to claim your hand. The other will submit to the outcome fully."

"And what if I strongly protest?" Case demanded bitingly.

"Your current score is three. If it was fifty or above you would have received the courtesy of influence in the matter," the porter said with disdain.

"Fantastic," Case ground out through clenched teeth.

"_Three_?" Atton asked, laughing.

Case wondered how he could laugh at such a time. She scowled at him, wanting to fling his own score back in his face, but _apparently_ it was a lot better than hers.

"I was having an off day," Case excused.

"All that floor scrubbing wear you out?" Atton snorted, still laughing.

"You want to stop breathing? Keep going," Case shot back.

The porter leaned toward Lord Virote, his tone lowered a bit. But not that much. "My lord, might I persuade you to reconsider? Perhaps a woman of a higher rank would suite your tastes better. This one cannot be worth all of this," he said.

"I can hear you," Case snapped.

"You are intrinsic," the porter responded with a careless shrug.

Case assumed "intrinsic" was not a good thing based on the porter's tone.

"Not to me she is not," Lord Virote said, his tone clipped, "I will compete."

"Count me in," Atton interjected.

Case strongly considered the Sith method of suicide to escape an impossible situation. She had been one step away from Sith-hood once; why not go all the way now? It seemed a better alternative than being legally bound to someone, especially one of the men competing for her. She couldn't conceive why Atton was doing it though; why bother? But then, she knew he wanted to protect her, so maybe the only way he could see to do that was… to marry her.

Death couldn't be _so_ bad…

"Please step down and follow Lord Virote to his transportation," the porter directed Case.

Grumbling, she hopped off the stool and strode toward the lord, shooting Atton a glare as she passed. He winked cockily at her and gave a half smile. She felt his hand on her lower back as she walked past, no doubt in an attempt to calm her. It worked, she was irritated to admit; just having someone she knew around her was enough to enable her to think clearer, especially when that someone was a Jedi.

Virote led her to an odd version of a speeder, only it ran on some kind of track. She wasn't sure how the whole thing worked, and despite the circumstances she wasn't able to overcome her curiosity for machinery.

"What is this?" she asked as the door was opened for her.

Once Virote was settled in next to her, he replied, "It is a migrauto. The tracks move it along."

"You don't have speeders?" Case asked.

"No. They don't work with our atmosphere," Virote said, his eyes never leaving her face.

Case turned away from him, gazing out the glass window. She resisted the urge to wrench the vehicle apart by the hinges and run away. But to do that would require killing many more people than she was willing to kill. She wasn't sure the situation could get any worse. _Atton_, she thought venomously. His Jedi torture techniques would be nothing compared to what she was going to do to him.

XXXXX

"Next time, I drive," Thayne snapped, slinging his pack over his shoulder as he trudged away from the smoking wreckage of their ship.

"It's not my fault they shot us down!" Revan shouted at him from the other side of the vessel.

She stood with her hands on her hips, mouth set in a frown as she gazed at what was left of the ship. She had swung in low to avoid detection. Unfortunately, there had been surveillance in the area. In a "shoot first ask questions later" maneuver, laser cannons had opened fire on them and clipped the engine, sending the whole craft into a spiraling crash.

"Yeah, your descent was completely unexpected," Thayne replied, making his way over to her, "You're stealthy as the night."

"Don't I _look_ like silent death?" Revan asked with a quick grin, "Bringing justice in the night and all that?"

"You look like a crazed female with some sort of fetish for disaster," he retorted.

Revan didn't answer him as she took a step forward and placed her hand against the metal of the hull. Reaching out through the Force, she looked for the major places of damage, hoping the fairly damaged ship could be salvaged. As the sounds of the machinery flowed back to her, she scowled. It was a jumbled mess that would take even the most skilled mechanic months to sort out. That ship wasn't going to be their way off the planet. But that didn't matter at the moment; she needed to search.

Thayne's irate voice cut through her thoughts. "What are you doing? Whoever shot us out of the air will be here soon. I may be stretching here, but I don't think they want us on their planet."

"Brilliant observation, Thayne. I'm so glad you're here to tell me these things," Revan replied, pulling her hand away from the warm metal.

Silence answered her sarcastic remark. Revan turned to find Thayne staring at her oddly. "What?" she asked, impatient to get going. She felt anxious as several pinpoints of hostile energy could be felt trekking toward them. The last thing she wanted was to get caught for the second time on the planet.

"You called me by my first name," he replied with a half smile.

"So?"

"I'm starting to grow on you," Thayne said with a smirk.

"Like a skin fungus," Revan said with a nod.

"Admit it; I'm more useful than you thought."

Revan glanced back at twisted wreck of the ship and then back to Thayne. "Yes, your work with the turrets was commendable."

"About as effective as your piloting."

"If I wasn't such an ace pilot we'd be smeared all over that cliff face," Revan shot back, waving her hand at the rock wall behind her.

"What was I thinking? This is much better," Thayne said in mock shock.

"Unless you want carbon scoring all over your body, I'd suggest we move."

"What?"

"Them." Revan pointed behind him.

Thayne turned to see a wall of men in gray uniforms marching toward him, blasters drawn, features set in menacing scowls. Thayne's face paled as he faced Revan. Their eyes locked for a moment. They shot off into the forest, ducking and dodging the red energy bolts streaming toward them.

"How are you still alive?" Thayne shouted at Revan.

"What?" she yelled back, ducking behind a tree just before a bolt hit her.

"Everyone wants to kill you!"

"It's my life," she called.

They raced through the trees, aware of the rapidly approaching men behind them. Revan steeled herself for capture; without being able to use the Force, she had no chance of fighting her way out, especially without her lightsaber. Sure, she could knock Thayne out again, but if he woke to find an army laying at his feet he may be a little suspicious. And she wasn't sure how good it was for his brain to be unconscious so often.

Revan angled her body to the left as a laser bolt shot at her heart and missed. Perhaps it was time to tell him the truth. It would make her whole search a lot easier, provided he didn't decide to turn her in. She still didn't trust him. But if she made it as a Sith lord, surely she could make it with Thayne.

_But you _didn't_ make it as a Sith lord_, Revan told herself. _But then again, who has?_

She glanced over at Thayne, who narrowly missed hitting a tree head on. It was time to tell him.

* * *

Quiz: Can anyone tell me the historical significance of Case's last name (Roanoke)? For any history buffs, it should be a snap. (Hint: think early colonization in America).


	7. Falling Out of the Blue

This is what I have so far. Not too lively, but it's a chapter. I had to rush on this to get it out, so let me know about any typos or inconsistencies. I knew if I didn't get this out it would be a lot longer before I finished more. I might redo this chapter. **Can I do that?? Redo it and repost it, I mean.**

Speaking of which, it will be a while before the next chapter. My work load just about doubled in the last week, and next week and the week after are going to be pretty nasty. That's what I get for overloading on classes, I guess.

Thanks for sticking with me! I'll get the next chapter out as soon as I can! **You're all awesome!**

* * *

CHAPTER SEVEN

_"Life is hard. After all, it kills you." --Katharine Hepburn_

Case stared blankly out into the clouded evening, the dim light from the shaded orange sun casting odd shadows against the square buildings of the planet. She had been planning for the past half hour as they drove in the demented machine. She hated the bumps they hit on the ground, feeling thankful for the speeders used in the rest of the galaxy. So far nothing brilliant had occurred to her.

"You want to know why I chose you," Virote said suddenly.

"I'm not exactly a catch," Case agreed, turning to him. She had been wondering that exact thing but had been too preoccupied with an escape plan to care much for the why of things.

"That is true," Virote said with a nod, "but only by our government's standards."

Apprehension pulled at Case, tightening her muscles automatically. She had a bad feeling about this.

"I chose you because I need your help."

Confirmation of her fears did little to relax Case as she stared impartially at Virote. "With what?" She already knew the answer even as she asked it.

"Things on Xent…are not right. Surely you have felt it," he replied, eyes dark as he spoke, "And I knew when I saw you that you could help us."

"Us?" she asked carefully.

"There is a resistance that has been meeting for ten years. We have plans that could help us take our planet back, but we know nothing of real battle, confined as we are in our settlements and cities," Virote answered pointedly.

"And you think I do."

"I could feel it the moment you walked into the Standing. You have killed many more than we ever will with our revolution."

There it was. That word. _Revolution_. Case felt sick as she heard it. She was thrown back into her earlier days as a padawan traveling with her master to foreign planets. Three times they had fought in revolutions; twice they had stepped aside to let things take their course. And now she was here again. Revolutions were worse to her than interplanetary wars; they were planets trying to kill themselves.

"I assume compromise and negotiations have been ruled out," Case said, feeling herself already kicked into strategy mode. Habit from years before.

"We did try, but it ended in disaster. They killed half of our group," Virote said, anger permeating his voice.

"I'm sorry."

"They died for what they believe in; they believed that the Twelve must be made to listen to the people."

"The Twelve? Those freakish men with the same face?" Case asked, interested.

Virote frowned. "Yes. They assumed control about two hundred years ago. There was a war that tore the planet apart, and just when everyone began to give up, they arrived. No one knows where they came from, but they promised things that everyone wanted; safety, freedom from strife, no war. But I fear we sacrificed choice for mere shadows of those things."

Case listened silently before speaking, turning the situation around in her mind. "What exactly do you want me to help you with?" She would make no promises until she knew what was going on. And yet she felt herself begin to give in; it had always been hard for her to ignore someone asking for her help.

_Yeah, and it's been hell for our credit purse._ Case could practically hear Atton snort and shake his head at her.

"You are Case Roanoke," Virote said as if her name explained everything.

"Since birth," she agreed. She waited for him to go on.

"I have heard things about you. Your galaxy was at war with itself, was it not? You helped to end that. I would like you to help us end it here."

With a sigh, Case replied, "I didn't do that much to end it. I actually made the next war worse, I think. And I'm not good at large strategies. I'm better at micro operations with only a few people."

"Perfect. We only have a few people," he said, smiling slightly.

She shook her head. "Do you know what you're doing? Revolutions are ugly, and they break just as much as they fix."

"Our planet was broken two hundred years ago. The Twelve set the break, but it was wrong; things haven't healed. They are getting worse; an infection has taken hold. If we don't re-break it and clean it out, we will not survive," he insisted.

"As much as I love the medical analogy, you need to tell me _exactly_ what's going on. What's the infection? The Twelve?" Case asked, eager to get to the heart of the problem.

Virote nodded hesitantly. "I believe so. Although, we're not entirely sure—"

"No," Case cut in, "There can't be any uncertainties. You need to know what you're doing. If you're going to bang heads, make sure they're the right heads you're cracking."

"What I meant," Virote said, somewhat annoyed, "is that they are a part of it, but if they are leading it I am not sure. It started with them, but I believe someone is behind it."

"Why."

"People are disappearing. At first we had no idea who took them or to where, but about eleven years ago there was a man they tried to take. He was the first, we believe, able to fight them and escape, but his wounds were fatal. He told us it was the Twelve. They were taking what he called "Force sensitives" for some unknown purpose, taking them _to_ someone. The man knew but died before he could tell us."

"Force sensitives?" Case asked, surprised.

"Yes. We didn't know what that was. I started to research, and when I did I found the Jedi. That is how I found out about you," he replied, "I could not believe my luck."

"Neither do I," Case muttered. Something was off about the whole situation. From what Virote said, the term "Force sensitives" wasn't part of the culture in any way. The man he spoke of had to be from some part of the Republic, or he at least visited it, but with the amount of lockdown that Virote was describing that would be impossible.

"The Twelve are revoking rights. The marriage you are being forced into is an effect of that. Almost every aspect of our lives is controlled by the Twelve. And they have been killing those who oppose them openly. They make no show about that," Virote said, angry.

Case thought back to when she met the Twelve. She had felt nothing from them beyond annoyance and impatience. Perhaps a little fear, but that was natural when a strange woman nearly crashed on your planet. Nothing she felt would have made her suppose them capable of killing a planet. But she had been wrong about people before. Revan, namely.

"Look, I'm not promising anything, but if you tell and show me everything, and I mean _everything_, I'll do what I can," she said finally.

"That is all I ask for now," Virote replied with a grin that showed off his perfect teeth. He sobered before his next question. The smile was quickly replaced with a frown. "Your friend, the one who wants to marry you…" he began slowly.

"Atton? I'm not sure he really _wants_ to marry me," Case stressed.

"Nevertheless. I need to know about him. Can he be trusted?"

"There are few people I trust as much as him," she responded solemnly.

"But there is a chance he would betray us," Virote repeated, his voice sharp as a vibroblade.

"No."

"Good. Then I will not have to kill him," he replied. At the surprised look on Case's face, he continued, "I could not have him marrying you. The rebellion needs you, and if he cannot be trusted, he cannot have you. I would kill him during the trials if need be."

"Well, that won't be necessary. But thanks, I think," Case replied, trying to find the humor in the situation. It was tough.

"Then do you recommend recruiting him? If you know him, he is most likely an asset," Virote reasoned.

Atton was most certainly an asset. His Echani training, years of service in both wars, and his travels with Case made him one of the best people they could possibly have to help. At once Case felt homesick for her crew, but at the same time felt relieved to be free; not everyone on the ship could be trusted.

"He would be my first choice," she responded.

"Good. That can be arranged," Virote said, smiling at her.

"So, do you lead this rebellion?" Case asked conversationally, returning his smile.

"In a manner of speaking. Strictly speaking it began with my mother and father."

"Did it? How so?"

"That is for another time. We are here," Virote said, gesturing to the window.

Case turned her head and caught sight of an impossibly large and ornate compound. It was made of stone, something she had never seen before. It was the typical square structure of the planet, but the roof was vaulted into points and carvings adorned the walls and windows.

"It's…huge," she managed.

"It's older than the Twelve," Virote agreed, "My ancestor built it fifty years before the War."

"Hmph. With my sense of direction it'll take me at least that long to find my way around," Case grunted.

"Then it is good I am taking you directly to our station for the resistance. That is much smaller," he said, sounding amused at her comment.

"Fine, but let's not make fun of my directionally challenged brain. I get enough of that from…" Case trailed off. The more she thought about Atton, the more she wanted to know. Why was he on Xent? How had he even found the planet? It had taken her days of being lost in space to find the thing.

"Please follow me," Virote said as the migrauto halted. He practically leapt from the vehicle and helped Case climb out.

"Lead on," Case said with a mock bow.

XXXXX

"Tell me again why we're here," Thayne muttered, ducking a slimy pipe at head level.

"The voices in my head told me to come here," the woman in front of him answered.

"That's funny, really funny Shayla," he grunted, kicking at a furry, scurrying creature running up his boot.

"I thought you'd appreciate a joke," she said amusedly.

They were both crouched in the sewage systems of whatever planet she had dragged him to. The soldiers in the forest had nearly had them at several points, but somehow Shayla had found the duct in which they were now doubled over. He had no idea why they had to go to the fracking planet at all, and Shayla had just uttered some cryptic mumbo-jumbo as explanation that he hadn't bothered to listen to. It wouldn't tell him anything more than he already knew, which was absolutely nothing.

"I didn't ask you to come," she pointed out, holding her glowstick ahead of her to avoid the hold in the metal under their feet.

"Yeah, sure, I should have just taken our _other_ ship off of that planet. You're right."

There was silence from ahead of him. For a moment he almost worried that he had insulted her, but that moment passed quickly. The woman was as sharp and hard as nails when she had to be. He doubted anything he did or said would have that much of an effect on her.

"There's something I should tell you," she said suddenly, her voice rushed, nervous almost. That alarmed Thayne; never had he heard her speak like that. Just the fact that it was her and she was nervous was enough to make him edgy.

"Nothing life-threatening, I hope," he said, attempting to joke.

"Depends on how you feel about Jedi," Shayla replied, calm again.

Thayne shrugged before realizing Shayla wouldn't be able to see it. "Don't care much. I see them like I see the Republic; stuffy, arrogant, generally misguided but well-intending," he replied.

"Thanks. That's better than a lot of people think," she quipped.

Her words suddenly hit Thayne like a punch to the gut. "Wait, whoa! Hold it a second," he called.

Shayla halted and crouched down, turning her head to face him, the dull blue glow of the light in her hand casting odd shadows on her face. She looked inhuman somehow. Thayne tried to wrap his mind around what she had implied.

"You're…a Jedi," he said incredulously. He snorted. "You don't act like any Jedi I've ever met."

"Probably for the best. Most of them didn't try to conquer the galaxy," she said with a slight nod.

"I've known mostly temple-dwellers, so if you've… what?" Thayne felt nerves bunch in his abdomen. "Conquer the galaxy…? That's a joke…"

Shayla hopped on the balls of her feet as she crouched, turning toward him to give him a serious stare. "This is the part I wanted to tell you after we got out of this stink hole. Close quarters tend to make people on edge anyway," she said, sighing, "But no doubt there will be someone waiting to kill us or arrest us once we get out of here. This isn't something I want everyone knowing."

"You tried to conquer the galaxy," he repeated dubiously, "I didn't think Jedi indulged in that kind of thing."

"You mean total conquest? Not normally, no. I…did. I'm Revan."

The world swam around Thayne as an icy fist closed around his heart. He felt fear hit him like a raging bull katarn, knocking the breath out of his lungs. He breathed deeply, trying to keep control. Thayne had heard about Revan's "conversion," everyone had; he hadn't believed it. After the horrors he had seen done by Revan's hand, there was no chance he would trust the traiter. Panic clawed at the edges of his mind as he subtly looked around for an exit; she could kill him before he twitched his little toe. His only chance was to talk his way out of death. He gritted his teeth as he thought about the vow he had made to himself; he wanted anything to do with Revan after the wars. And yet there she was, staring at him, waiting for him to say something in response to her bizarre revealed secret.

"Tell me you're lying," he ground out.

"I would be lying if I said I was lying."

"You…" Thayne started. He stopped and backed away from her. He tried again. "You should be dead."

"Yes," she said softly.

Her appearance was enough to fool anyone, Thayne thought bitterly. Her long, dark hair fell over her shoulders like a wave of black water. It hid part of her pale face and heightened the contrast between her white skin and rosy mouth. Her green eyes were dull as she watched him; no doubt she had received that reaction before. If anyone looked at her, they would never suspect her to the murderer of so many people. Millions dead because of what she had done.

"I think I would kill you if I could," Thayne said, his voice eerily steady.

"And I would let you if I could. But I can't, so you can't," she replied.

"Give me a reason not to try," he said, his voice low. He stared at the filthy water pooled around his ankles as he waited for her response.

"You would die. I can't let you stop what I have to do."

"Like old times."

She paused, conflict revealed in her features. "Yes. I'm trying to finish what I started. Only this time no one is going to be murdered to bring it about. At least not by me."

"Really?" Thayne snapped, "Because I would have thought you'd already killed again. How many beings have died by your hand even since your "conversion," Revan?"

"Hundreds. It wasn't technically murder. Most people don't let me walk away if they want to kill me." She didn't so much as blink.

"And I suppose they all deserved it."

"People don't always get what they deserve."

"I can see that," Thayne murmured, eyeing her.

"Look," Revan said, resting her elbows on her knees as she balanced on the balls of her feet. She looked as comfortable in that position as most people did reclining. "If I don't stop this, the whole galaxy will die."

"Really? Is that what you told yourself last time?" Thayne said nastily.

"Yes. But this time is different," she said. A smile pulled at the corners of her mouth. "I've had a very bad bump on the head and several Jedi scrambling my brains since then. I'm a completely different person," she continued, humor evident in her tone.

"Yeah, I see," Thayne muttered.

"I'm not into genocide anymore. Murder's not my thing either," Revan said with a wink, "If it makes you feel better, I don't remember much about my life from back then."

"_Much_," Thayne said significantly, "What do you remember?"

Revan frowned. "I know what I was trying to do. I didn't want everything dead. I was trying to save it… in my own slightly masochistic, misguided way," she answered.

"Well, then, you should be nominated for sainthood. Why didn't anyone else think of that? _Destroy_ the Republic to save it. Brilliant."

"I—" Revan cut off and sighed, "Fine. You don't have to like me. You don't even have to stay with me. Just keep out of my way."

Thayne laughed a deep, bitter laugh. "And let you stomp all over the galaxy? No. I'll stay with you. If I have to stop you I will. Don't make me do that."

Revan was silent for several moments, looking Thayne up and down. Then she spoke. "You fought with me," she whispered.

"I did. The Mandalorian War was fine. The Jedi Civil War was the worst mistake I ever made. I stuck it out to the end, though. And I'll do the same here."

"I see."

Thayne sighed, clenching his fists in frustration. "Look, I don't hate you for what you are. I just don't want to see the galaxy go to hell, you know? If you think what you're doing is worth it, I'm in. Just don't give me an excuse to shoot you. I may not be able to resist."

"I'll try my best," Revan replied, "But no promises on that front."

"Just… give me time to overcome my scruples," Thayne grunted, closing his eyes in an attempt to block out the conflict in his mind.

"You have scruples?" Revan asked in surprise.

"A few. They're dying one by one," he murmured. Thayne glance back up at Revan, meeting her green eyes squarely. He groaned and ran a hand over his neck. "I have nowhere else to go. Might as well spend a few days either helping you or stopping you."

"Let's go," Revan said, her voice low.

She hopped on the balls of her feet until she was once again facing the exit of the sewage system. Or at least where they thought the exit was.Thayne followed behind her, his mind still in shock from what she had told him. Anger began to well within him; how could she not tell him? She had lied from the beginning. _But so have I_, he thought grimly.

"I didn't tell you before because... I didn't think you'd be here this long," Revan growled from up ahead.

"Thought I'd die a while back?" Thayne asked, only half joking.

"Well… yes. But I also thought you were smarter," she replied, a sharp edge to her voice.

"Would it kill you to compliment someone?" Thayne asked, kicking a rodent out of his way. He didn't want to know what was under the water. A shiver tingled down his spine at the thought.

"I thought you would jump ship when you could. You didn't. You'll probably die," Revan replied flatly, picking up the pace as her glowstick began to fade.

"Yeah, well, I'm surprised you're still kicking," Thayne muttered, stepping heavier than necessary to splash water at Revan. The droplets hit an invisible wall and slid back into the mucky liquid at his feet.

"I heard that."

"Damn. That's going to get annoying. Maybe you could just go on pretending you're normal for a while, eh?"

"No time. I told you so I could save our necks later. There aren't nice people running this planet," Revan said shortly.

"Right… so again, why are we here?" Thayne asked. He had made the decision to avoid thinking about the murderer he was traveling with. _Not like my past is squeaky clean_, he thought darkly.

"For the second time, the voices in my head told me," she replied.

Thayne paused, struck by the seriousness in her voice. "Serious?"

"Serious as kidney failure," she affirmed.

"I thought you said that was a joke!" he exclaimed. The last thing he needed was a schizophrenic maniacal Sith lord listening to the voices in her mind. He couldn't think of a faster way to get killed.

"Yeah, well, I was joking about _that_," Revan said with a laugh. "Not about the voices. I thought it was funny."

"I don't think Jedi should indulge in humor," Thayne grunted, squeezing through a tighter passage in the pipe system as he rounded a corner.

"No? How about this one; how many armed guards does it take to capture a Jedi?" Revan asked, her voice oddly low.

Thayne stopped dead as she halted in front of him. "I don't know. Twenty," he snapped, wanting to get moving.

"We'll find out," Revan growled, "Find cover."

Before Thayne could blink twice, she was gone. A bang was followed by the sight of a metal grate flying across the room and cracking against the opposite wall; Revan's doing, no doubt. He crouched facing an opening into a storage room, at least twenty soldiers facing him with shocked expressions on their faces and blasters in their hands. Cursing, Thayne dove out of the pipe and into the room, racing for cover as Revan dove into the midst of the soldiers, a brilliant white saber flashing as it danced across the bodies of the men. The double blades sliced through everything around her.

Thayne's blasters were in his hands and firing the moment he could shield himself behind a pillar. After getting off only three shots, however, he was shocked to see Revan clench her fists and a wave of invisible power slam into the men around her. Most went flying across the room, never to rise again. Thayne felt the wave past him, but he was unaffected. She could _control_ who it hit? He found himself fascinated by that fact, wanting to learn more.

He raised his blasters again and shot four men down, all the while keeping an eye on Revan slipping through the ranks like they were nothing more than dolls made of bantha fodder, her weapon searing flesh and dismembering limbs. In mere minutes every soldier was down, all but one. Revan had him by the front of his uniform, limp body hanging inches off the ground.

"Who sent you to kill us?" she demanded. Her eyes were like green ice as she faced the trembling soldier.

"T-t-t-the…" the man choked. His eyes rolled back into his head as he passed out.

Revan sighed impatiently and dropped him to the floor. Thayne moved toward her, opening his mouth to ask about their next move. To his surprise, Revan knelt on one knee next to the soldier and pressed her pale fingers to his forehead. The man coughed, his eyes fluttering open. He croaked a yell as he saw the woman leaning over him. Thayne didn't blame him.

"You can't move, so don't even try. Tell me who want us dead," she growled. Her voice cut through the air, sharper than any blade ever made.

"I don't know!" the man cried desperately, "We just follow orders!"

"Do you?" Revan whispered. She stared at him intently for a moment before breaking eye contact. Her lip curled into a grimace as she looked up at Thayne. "He's telling the truth. Frak." She put her hand back to the soldier's forehead; a moment later he his eyes snapped shut and he lay breathing regularly on the floor.

"What did you _do_ to him?" Thayne asked, walking closer, his gaze locked on the soldier at Revan's feet.

"He'll feel better than the rest of this lot," she grunted, stooping to grab two blasters. She spun them twice before tucking them into holsters on her thighs.

"I didn't think Jedi used blasters," Thayne remarked, trying to recover from the shock of her actions.

"Then I'm not a Jedi," Revan said with a shrug, tying the holsters to her legs for stability.

"You're a freak of nature," Thayne muttered.

"What?" Revan asked absently as she began going through the uniforms of the fallen soldiers, confiscating grenades, security tunnelers, and whatever else she could find.

"Why are you looting the bodies?" he asked, ignoring her question.

"I don't have any _stuff_," Revan complained, grinning as she found a pair of gammorean gauntlets. "These are nice."

"Stuff…?"

"I need _stuff_! I can't go wandering the galaxy without a full pack of things. It's a habit of sorts," Revan explained absently, rooting through the bag of an officer. "Echani armor! I love this style," she said with glee.

Thayne watched with a mixture of interest and slight abhorrence as Revan finished going through the soldiers before picking the lock on a large locker. She exclaimed with delight as she pulled out a small crystal. It was a deep red hue with an almost black center.

"They had no idea what this is! I can't believe it," Revan murmured, turning the rock in her hands.

"Now you're going through their lockers?" Thayne said, shaking his head at her. Now he had to add kleptomania to the list of things wrong with her.

"It's a Bane's Heart crystal! An odd one, but I think that's what this is," she said, sounding absolutely enthralled with her find.

"Neat," Thayne replied in disinterest, "As much as I'd love getting killed down here, I think we should get out before they realize you slaughtered a battalion of soldiers."

"I want to use this. Hold on," Revan ordered. She wrapped the crystal in her palm and closed her eyes. Her brows lowered in concentration. Between her fingers, Thayne could see streaks of colored light breaking free from her hand. A moment later Revan's eyes were open and she was working on her double lightsaber.

"Just a minute… there," she said, holding the finished weapon proudly. She switched it on.

Thayne jumped back in alarm as a thicker blade sprang out of the hilts. It was a blood red light now.

"Sithspit. It overpowers the white crystal," Revan grumbled. Her eyes traced the new blades longingly. "But it's so shiny. I can't resist," she murmured to herself.

"Like that fork you have, eh?" Thayne said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"What?"

"I've seen you looking at it when you think I'm not watching. You found it in that temple, I'll bet. What is it with you and shiny things?"

"I find them to be pleasant visual stimulation," Revan sniffed, brushing past him on her way to the door.

Thayne sighed, shook his head once more, and trotted after her. He nearly slammed into her as she stopped head, her body rigid. "What?" he demanded, tripping back a few steps.

XXXXX

Revan shushed Thayne quickly. "There's…something…" she murmured.

"Are you sure you're healthy?" Thayne muttered from behind her, "Delusional if you ask me."

Revan nearly laughed at that remark; inside she had never been sicker. Her mission was slowly failing, and if she failed the Republic would fall, the people of the galaxy drowning with them in an ocean of blood and destruction. She closed her eyes, trying to shut out the thoughts. In her mind she could hear the breath of the planet; it was labored and rattled with death. It was not a good planet to be on.

Something pricked at her consciousness, feeling slippery to her mind, as if it did not want to be found. She pursued it, hard pressed to pin it down for more than a moment. It was almost as if whatever it was didn't really exist, like a hole; you could see it, but it wasn't really there. Or more like a void perhaps in that it seemed unconnected to anything around it…

Her head snapped up. She _knew_ where she had felt that before. It was at the end of the Mandalorian Wars, after Malachor's destruction. Wonder spread through her as she realized just who was on the planet with her; it was the Jedi Exile from so long ago. Casey Roanoke, she believed her name was – the only Jedi to return for the trial the Council conducted for those who had disobeyed the Jedi; the only one to resist the darkside. At least as far as Revan knew.

She searched eagerly, fighting to catch the Exile in her perceptions. Growling in frustration as she slipped away again, Revan threw the Force out from her in waves; it Casey was nearby they would let her know. Everything the waves hit resounded within the force, bouncing back to her until… there, that one didn't come back. It just vanished as if it had never been.

"What are you doing here?" Revan murmured, intrigued.

She knew Roanoke had left known space after she had been banished, but to end up here… it was odd even for her.There was something about Casey that was so much different than anything Revan had ever seen before, even prior and during the wars. It was a quiet, invisible power that wound around her, binding everything around Case to her.

Revan turned back to Thayne, a grin lighting up her face. "This mission just got a lot more complicated."

Raising an eyebrow at her, Thayne replied, "That's a good thing?"

"We've got backup," she said. Her smile faded slowly. "That is if she doesn't want to kill me. She could probably do it."

Slight fear touched Thayne at Revan's words. There was someone on the planet who could kill _her_.

"We'll just have to see," Revan murmured, moving forward. Perhaps there was hope for her mission after all. Kreia had sent backup. _Ready or not, I'm here, Case._

* * *

The groups are coming together! ...Please Review. Like always, just a quick word will be fine. Example: "Nice!" or "Barf!"


	8. The Days I Find So Long

Not to freak you out or anything, but I think I may be losing my mind. This is one of those stories in my head that kind of go where they may, and I get dragged along behind. A little painful, but okay. You're okay with having me be insane, right? Ha, ha, ha!

Sorry, I'm beat from finals. I have three more out of eight to go. And my last three papers to write. All due tomorrow, so that should be interesting...

Anyway, this is one of those shotgun chapters (I was procrastinating and so I wrote this faster than normal). That's it.

**Happy Mother's Day!**

* * *

Chapter Eight

Atton stared scathingly at the woman sitting next to him. They had hauled him from the Standing and into some contraption that rocked around on the ground; it was like riding a three-legged bantha charging around Kashyyyk. Now his knees were up to his chin in the small moving whatever-it-was. Of course they didn't have anything taller to offer him. Apparently all porters were horrifically short.

Finally the accursed thing rattled to a halt and he was able to push the door open and stretch his legs; he heard the joints pop and crack from being scrunched for so long. He climbed out of the thing and stretched his cramped muscles, glancing up at the green sky as he did so. The immense amount of green foliage was responsible for the coloring, he surmised. The plants of the planet were almost luminescent. And wet. Everything was wet.

"This way," the woman said, marching toward a grey compound.

Atton grudgingly followed, eyeing his surrounding to stay on the lookout for an escape. Not that he knew where to go; he had to find out where they had taken Case first. There was no way he was going through anymore trials. The last set had nearly driven him mad with their tedium. He involuntarily chuckled when he thought of Case's reaction to seeing him. And her _score_! He wondered what she had done to get such a low mark. Not that he knew how they measured success, but surely a woman with her capabilities should have been able to get a higher mark.

"So," Atton said conversationally, taking two long strides to catch up with the tiny woman, "Where's the bar?"

"The consumption of alcoholic beverages is strictly forbidden until you have completed your trials. Inebriation is not attractive for the crowds or the Twelve," she said, giving him a severe glare.

"Wait, whoa! Crowds? This is…public?" Atton said, attempting to laugh. It came out more like a snort as he choked on his surprise.

"Of course. At the end of the trials a winner shall be declared. Then the binding is performed and followed by a short period of festivity."

Sounds like a grand old time," Atton grunted, ducking his head slightly as he entered the compound. Like the outside, the interior was gray and bland. Not that it bothered him; he was used to prison cells, so no energy shields or bars was a plus.

The door closed behind them and a yellow layer of light covered it. _Damn_, he thought; there were shields. Just the familiar hum of the energy was enough to make his stomach clench; he hated being in prison, but he was used to it. He was also used to escaping.

"It is a very stimulating social interaction," she replied, her voice clipped.

"I can think of other… _stimulating_ interactions I like better," Atton said with a sly smile.

"I don't understand your meaning," the porter said blandly.

"Forget it," Atton muttered. Any hope of humor to alleviate his present situation was gone in a flash. Did _no one_ on the planet know how to laugh? Even a chuckle would be welcome.

He shoved his hands into his pockets as he strolled behind the porter. They took two lifts and a set of stairs to reach his room. He raised an eyebrow at his new accommodations, renewing his vow to himself that he would find a way out. The sooner the better. He would go stir crazy.

"It's…small. Like a closet. Only smaller," he said.

"Yes," she replied.

"So…how long am I here?"

"Three galactic standard days. You are allowed only in the places I mentioned. Please do not make us use force. The Twelve are uncomfortable inflicting harm upon visitors."

"Well, we wouldn't want the Twelve to get upset."

"No. You do not," the porter said darkly. Without another word she turned on her heel and marched out of the room. The door slammed shut behind her and Atton could hear the click as the lock bolted the door closed.

Atton waiting five seconds before racing to the door. He grabbed the knob thing that was used to open the door. He yelped and jerked back as electricity shot through is body.

"Come _on_! Damn it! Electricity?" he yelled through gritted teeth. When the pain subsided and the numbness set in, he let go of his hand and glared at the door. "Can this get any more cliché? Or stupid," he muttered.

He glanced around the room and caught sight of the fresher. And the tooth scrubber they had provided him with. Taking four steps across the room, he grabbed it from the holder and took it in both hands. It bent and snapped with little difficulty. Running the pad of his thumb over the two jagged halves, Atton grinned. He would be out before he could say, "What the hell was I thinking?" Which was subsequently what he was wondering.

Retracing his steps, Atton returned to the door, "tools" in hand. "Alright, let's see how prepared they are for someone like me," he said cockily to the door.

After a quick scrutiny of the lock system, Atton was fairly certain he would be strolling the streets as a free man in no time. The thought made him grin as he went to work on the lock. In a matter of seconds he heard the satisfactory click of the bolt submitting to his superior skills. Atton rose to his feet and tossed the tooth cleaner aside as he gripped the knob once more. A second shock ran through him, worse this time. His teeth slammed painfully together as he flew back away from the door.

"What the…mmph!" Atton grunted, screwing his eyes shut as his muscles slowed their spasms. He could have sworn that the electricity had been linked to the lock. How could he have gotten that wrong…

"I would suggest not doing that again," a crackly voice said.

Atton's head snapped up, looking for the source of the voice. A small black disk imbedded in the wall drew his attention. He cursed under his breath; they had remote control of the security system. The lock, anyway. Subtly turning his head aside, he began to search for something that could be used to block the flow of electricity if wrapped around the knob.

"There is nothing in here that will you. All of the materials in the room have metals threaded through them. Using them on the handle would not be advisable."

The voice was that of a droid, Atton realized. He scowled; he hated droids, especially droids that were keeping him hostage. Or whatever he was. What, someone said they wanted to marry a woman and suddenly there was no backing out? The fraking system had problems.

"Kark it," Atton muttered. He was getting out.

Not only did he not trust whoever was in charge of the place, he didn't believe they would let Case off the hook with something as easy as marriage; as for why they had him, he had no idea what they wanted to do. It didn't look good if they were already electrocuting him. Swinging around to the small window on the far wall, Atton rolled his shoulders, popping the joints in preparation. He was going to blow the whole fracking wall out. He briefly thanked Case for training him the Force.

To his surprise the droid said nothing as he advanced on the window, ready to let loose on it. Unless they used Force resistant material – which was unlikely – the thing was going to pop out like the cork of Corellian punch. Atton raised a hand. Just as he prepared to Push the wall out, a head appeared outside.

He blinked once, twice. The face was smiling at him now. It was a woman with long dark hair and impossibly green eyes. She looked a little…mental, especially with the way she was grinning. Suddenly a memory clicked in his mind; he knew that face. He recoiled quickly, retreating to the back of the room. Kreia had been right, the hag. It was Revan.

XXXXX

"I told you we would find it!" Revan called down to Thayne. Her hands tightly gripped the side of the compound as she peered through the window.

She saw Thayne cross his arms over his chest, glaring out at the landscape. He pretended that her being Revan didn't bother him, but she could feel his tension when she was anywhere near him. Revan wondered how he would react when she had to do something shocking, like a Stasis or Force Scream. Most people didn't react well to things like that.

Pushing thoughts of Thayne's mental comfort from her mind, Revan focused on the window. She grinned when she realized she had the right one. The face of Jaq Rand stared at her blankly for a few moments before shock registered on his features before he stumbled back farther into the room, away from her; he had realized who she was. With a sigh, Revan's grin faded. It wasn't as though she was unused to such a reaction, but she had hoped for more from someone like him. But in all fairness, he _had_ deserted her army for a reason. Nevertheless, she was glad she had found his signature and been able to follow it. She almost hadn't recognized it.

Raising a hand, she tapped gently on the glass. Jaq shook his head, watching her nervously. He jerked a thumb toward the wall. Revan glanced over and saw a dark disk imbedded in the wall; they were monitoring him. Not a problem. Reaching out through the Force, Revan grabbed hold of the monitor's electrical signature; it wasn't an easy trick to do, but it was possible. She sent out threads of the Force to interrupt its signal. With a small smile, she felt its signature fade.

Revan put her weight on one hand and put the other in front of the glass. She released the Force into it. Nothing happened. She tried again. Again, nothing. With a slight jolt, she realized it was made of Force resistant materials. Why would Xent have a reason for that? There weren't Force users on the planet. A wave of apprehension washed over Revan; something was very wrong, but that would have to wait.

Turning her gaze downward toward Thayne, Revan met his eyes for a moment. He wasn't going to react well to what she was about to do. With a short sigh, she turned back to the window and pressed her fingers to the surface. She dug deep to find the power trick she had been taught, hoping she wouldn't tax herself too much; luckily the side effects were very mild. Appraising the material, she determined that it wasn't too resistant to what she was about to do. The stupid rock in her cell where she had met Thayne was much stronger. Not surprising, considering who had lived there.

The window around her hand rippled slightly as she pressed down. The pads of her fingers sunk into the surface, followed by her hand, wrist, arm, and continuing until she had slipped through and into the room, landing with a thud on the ground, her head spinning. With a quiet groan, she pinched the bridge of her nose as she fought off a headache. Something wet dripped onto her hand sitting in her lap. Revan looked down and was shocked to see blood running down her fingers. That had never happened before.

"What the hell are you doing here?" The abrasive voice broke Revan out of her thoughts.

"Shut up and help me stand," Revan said evenly, raising her fingers to her nose. It was bleeding, not badly, but enough. She wiped it away and stared at the red on her fingertips. With no other option, and being unwilling to leave any definite biological evidence behind, Revan put her fingers in her mouth and sucked the blood off. She cleaned her other hand before turning to Jaq. He was still standing there, unmoving.

With a growl of impatience, Revan reached out to him with her drier hand. When he made no move to take it, Revan sighed impatiently. "If I could stand on my own, don't you think I would?"

Looking slightly conflicted, Jaq reached out and grabbed her hand, jerking her to her feet, perhaps with a little more force than than was necessary. Revan wouldn't have minded if her legs would've supported her. She let out a grunt as she pitched forward into the floor, her arms able to only catch her enough to avoid smashing face first into the ground as they hit the metal painfully. Rolling onto her side, Revan fought to catch her breath, feeling slightly shocked. That trick shouldn't have taxed her so much.

A few seconds went by before she felt Jaq take her hands and help her to her feet, this time wrapping an arm around her waist to steady her. He didn't say he was sorry, and Revan doubted he regretted causing her a minor amount of discomfort. Well, then, she wouldn't thank him.

"Do you want to get out or not, Rand?" she demanded, feeling bruises form where her arms had struck the floor. She didn't have enough energy to do anything about it, so she directed her thoughts elsewhere.

"What are you doing here?" he growled, his arm suddenly feeling threatening around Revan.

Revan didn't answer. She was irritated. He had changed none at all; though he should have been more concerned with escaping, he was holding a grudge against her. Despite her past, he had to know what she was doing in deep space; he wouldn't be out here if he didn't. She certainly wasn't chasing after the True Sith for kicks.

Suddenly Jaq's face lit up oddly. "Did you get Case?" he asked.

Raising an eyebrow, Revan shook her head. "No. You were closer." She grimaced as she felt the feeling come back into her legs, shifting more of her weight off of Jaq as her strength began to return. "Should've skipped you and went straight for her." The thought of meeting up with the Exile made Revan wince; that wouldn't be a pleasant thing if Case was also holding a grudge.

"You should have. She's…kind of a prisoner," Jaq said hesitantly.

Something tickled the edge of Revan's mind. She focused on it. Shock coursed through body when she realized what it was. It was _Jaq_; he was a… that was impossible. He was old, for one thing, and he had been among her ranks too long for something like that to go unnoticed… Unless he had suppressed it; that had to be it, she thought. And he had been suppressing it around her just now, only his guard had slipped for some reason.

"You're…a Jedi," Revan managed to say, finding her throat oddly constricted. It had been so long. And yet her tone had been accusing, suspicious almost.

Jaq's mouth hardened into severe line. "Yeah, she trained me. Some others, too," he said, his voice clipped.

"Others? There are more?" Revan asked with interest. It seemed her former general had been busy.

"Later. We have to get out of here, and I'm guessing you can't get us through the way you came," he said, his voice tinged oddly. He was shocked by what she had done. Not surprising. Thayne was probably going into convulsions as they spoke.

"Don't be an idiot. Why wouldn't we go out that way?" Revan asked, "Besides, there isn't another way out without killing someone."

"Am I supposed to think that bothers you now?" he retorted nastily.

"Still have that blood on your hands?" Revan said, knowing her words would slice through him. It worked. He fell silent, no doubt thinking about everything his hands had done. She found it fascinating that he had allowed anyone to open him to the Force, let alone train him. When they found Casey, Revan would have to ask her how she did it.

Jaq's face hardened with ill concealed hatred. Revan didn't care. "You sure you won't keel over if we do that…thing?" he asked gruffly.

She was tempted to tease him about caring for her wellbeing, but the look on his face convinced her that sarcasm would not go over well. She didn't want to heal anymore bruises, thank you very much. Instead she nodded reassuringly. Of course she could do it. Sure, she may collapse inexplicably into a heap of quivering flesh once she hit the ground, but that could be dealt with later, provided they weren't caught before that, of course.

"Help me to the window," she ordered. Jaq obliged, hauling her over to peer outside.

Knowing they wouldn't have a lot of time before someone came looking for the source of the malfunctioning technology, Revan wanted to hurry their escape. But, doubting she would be able to avoid tumbling painfully to the ground once she was on the other side of the wall, she wanted to make sure Thayne would be on his guard. That would be a nice shock for him, watching two people plummet to their deaths in front of him. But with the aversive effect to her and having no idea what it would do to Jaq, she didn't want him to have a heart attack or something. That would be a waste; someone still had to help Case.

He was standing back far enough to give him a view into the room, his face rigid. Revan winced at his look, resolving to explain things later. He would no doubt want to know how she did her little trick. She waved weakly at him. When he nodded stiffly in return, Revan motioned her hand at the wall, indicating that they were coming back through.

"Should I be worried?" Jaq asked, watching nervously as Revan placed her hand against the window.

"Not really. There's nothing you can do," she replied with a shrug. Good, she was getting some of her strength back.

"What's that mean?"

"Well, if it's anything like the trip in, we're going to have a bad landing," Revan replied, concentrating on the wall.

Jaq exhaled sharply. "Damn."

Revan almost expected him to demand another solution; Rand had never been one to stand for damage inflicted upon his person, no matter what harm he had done to others. But he didn't protest, merely squaring his shoulders in preparation for pain. He needn't have worried; it didn't hurt, only weakened. Not usually, though. The weakness shouldn't have been nearly as strong as it had been.

Letting her breath out slowly, Revan watched closely as her fingers slid into the window and out the other side. The rest of her began to follow. She kept a tight grip on Jaq, not wanting to think about what would happen if she lost control when he was halfway through the wall. The mental image was not pleasant.

In a moment they had slid outside, clinging to the side of the building as their feet rested on an impossibly narrow ledge; anyone but a Jedi would have plunged to their death. Revan felt a strange thrill in her belly at the thought of Jaq Rand, of all people, being a Jedi. Still, stranger things had happened – she was living proof of that.

"Great. This is just great. What now?" Jaq growled, glancing down at the ground. Revan looked too. Had it always been that far away? Her stomach did a flip.

She waited for another wave of weakness to hit her. Nothing happened. She raised her fingers to her face, searching for blood. There was nothing. With a short sigh of relief, Revan felt infinitely better about their situation; she wasn't dying, and that was always a plus. And if they could find a way down from the building, she might even be able to stand again. The thought sent a bout of laughter pushing at her throat. She resisted the urge and focused on getting down.

Immediately assessing the situation, Revan could see no easy means of descending. It was clear to her that Jaq would have less difficulty than she; in fact, it seem the only reason he was still clinging to the gods forsaken building was to keep her from plummeting to her death. It made sense; he wouldn't want her to die if they still had to save Case. After that it wouldn't much matter to him.

It was glaringly apparent that Jaq was quite… attached to Revan's dear old general. She wasn't surprised; many people had been drawn to her in a similar way. But she was curious to see how Case, good old Casey, felt about him. As far as Revan knew, Case had never had romantic feelings about anyone. Revan could relate; that was before she met Carth. Who knew? Things changed… mostly. The situations she got herself into – like the present one – seemed to be a constant in her life. It was almost comforting in an odd, slightly insane way.

"Got any ideas?" Thayne called up.

"Yes," Revan replied, not raising her voice more than need be.

Jaq watched her warily; she had forgotten he would remember how…unorthodox her plans could be. He needn't have worried. Like she would save him just to kill him; she wouldn't waste an asset so easily.

"What?" Thayne asked, clearly impatient.

"He's going to drop me," she answered. There was no other way. And even if she broke several somethings, with a bit of rest she could heal that right up.

"What?" Jaq and Thayne spoke at the same time.

"No," Thayne said.

"Stupid," Jaq muttered.

"Unless my shoulder blades sprout wings here in a couple seconds, I don't think there's an alternative," Revan said pointedly. She paused for a moment and peered over her shoulder toward her back. "Nope, still flightless. Come on, Jaq, give me a toss."

Jaq gave her an incredulous stare that almost blocked out his obvious loathing. Almost. Not that Revan minded; she considered it a miracle he hadn't killed her yet. Revan waited for him to argue with her. He didn't.

With a shrug of his shoulders and a flippant glance at her, Jaq flipped her off the side of the building. Revan heard Thayne curse as she fell, her stomach looping uncomfortably, partly from the slight shock of being thrown so quickly. The discomfort got worse as she slammed into something that was not the ground. A grunt sounded in her ear as she tumbled to the ground, her limbs entangles in someone else's. Thayne's.

"Why did you do that?" Revan groaned, rolling off of him, her side aching from landing on it.

"Why did I…?" His voice was incredulous. "Maybe a blow to the head would have helped you," he muttered, scrambling to his feet. He didn't offer to help Revan up. She didn't ask.

Jaq landed with a thump on the ground, rolling to protect his legs. He let his momentum carry him to his feet, standing with no more than a few scrapes and bruises in the way of injury. Revan was fairly certain she had cracked a few ribs. She took a deep breath and lay back on the ground, focusing on her injured areas. In a moment she felt the calming cool of the Force caressing her body with its healing touch. It would take a little for the stiffness to vanish, but she would be able to walk and fight.

To her surprise, Jaq extended a hand down to her. His eyes screamed potential murder, but his action let on that he didn't want her dead, not quite yet. She took the hand and was pulled to her feet, this time without pitching nose first into the ground.

"My name is Atton," he corrected firmly, letting go of her hand.

Revan looked at him curiously, but nodded in understanding. She had taken a different name after the horrors of war as well, even if it had not been by her choice. There was sanity to it, almost like separating oneself from what had been done.

"Pleasure to meet you, Atton Rand. I am Revan, formerly Shayla, who was post Revan. This," she motioned to Thayne, "Is Thayne Korr."

Thayne nodded his greeting and Atton reciprocated the gesture, neither man looking anything but ill at ease.

"Okay, down to business. Case is that way," Revan said, pointing generically north, "And apparently she needs our help. We need to get there by yesterday, so…" She looked contemplatively at Thayne, who stared back defiantly. "Atton, can you speed?"

"What?"

"With the Force," she clarified.

"Yeah, but what about him?" Atton asked, jerking his head toward Thayne.

"We'll carry him, of course."

"Hey, whoa," Thayne protested, taking several steps back, his hand automatically straying to his blaster.

"Either that or you can walk ten miles," Revan said, frowning at him.

"What's so important about this woman?" he asked, halting his retreat.

Revan took a breath. She wasn't sure she could explain it right. She wasn't even sure if she truly knew yet. But Case…was different.

"She's…" Atton began, but cut off. He glanced at Revan, the same struggle in her was reflected in his eyes. He understood; he knew. Good.

"Well, I can see why you're both so determined to save her. Sounds like a regular hero, this one," Thayne muttered, annoyed at their silence, "I guess I'll have to see for myelf. Just know that if you drop me, you won't be able to duck fast enough."

"Noted. Come on," Revan said briskly.

She put an arm around his waist and felt his arm wrap around her shoulders. Atton took his other side, and soon they were off, the landscape flying by at an impossible speed. Revan briefly hoped that Atton was strong enough to do something like that. Not that they had another option. It was, in this case, faster than commandeering someone else's vehicle. And then there was the question of whether they would even be able to _drive_ one of those things. She had no idea how to work with something that drove on the ground.

With only a few breaks now and then to rest their screaming muscles, Revan and Atton carried Thayne the ten miles to the location in which Revan sensed Case's lack of a signature. She was getting better at pinning down the void, though it was still tricky as all get out. Soon they stopped just outside the boundary of the huge, odd looking compound and let Thayne stand on his own legs again.

Thayne wobbled a bit, looking like he might be sick. Revan grabbed a hold of him and held him steady until he had regained his balance. His face was hard as he stared at the ground.

"That…I don't think we should do that again," he muttered through gritted teeth.

"No, probably not," Revan laughed, loosening her grip as he regained stability.

Atton was focused on the compound ahead of them, his eyes dark.

"So, what's the situation?" Revan asked, carefully letting go of Thayne before walking over to Atton. "What trouble has my general gotten into this time?"

"She's getting married," he replied bluntly.

Revan felt a little shock hit her. "She's marrying someone? Who?"

Atton shrugged. "Probably him, since I just escaped before the trials." He nodded toward the compound.

Grimacing, Revan remembered the trials that the planet loved so well. They had once tried to force them on her, but… well, her relationship with the planet wasn't what it could have been. She hadn't gotten married. In fact, if memory served correctly, they believed she was married to some guy called… what was it? Remalus Lonan. She chuckled at the memory.

"I'm assuming you have a good reason to be so damn cheery right now," Thayne said, walking up beside her. He still looked slightly ill.

"We're alive. Is there another reason to celebrate? Oh, and most of us are single," Revan replied with a shrug, "Atton here was in line to marry our little Exile." Before Atton could reply, Revan leaped ahead, beginning the final trek to reach Case. She couldn't put it off much longer.

Soon they were close enough to see inside the windows of the compound. Luckily, Atton was adept at spotting security and had saved them several times from tripping alarms or worse. Memories of past time among her troops were beginning to return to Revan, but she didn't want to deal with that at the moment. Sadness washed over her at the thought of what she had done to them, at how they had trusted her. The good thing was that Atton would not make that mistake again. If something…difficult had to be done, she could get him to do it. Thayne probably wouldn't object either, she mused.

Once they were dangerously close ("That's the safe distance; no one suspects anyone so near," Revan had insisted), the group hid behind some sort of hedge just a few yards away from the compound.

"We'll have to be invisible," Revan said, keeping her voice low. When she saw the looks on Thayne and Atton's face, she scowled. "Not literally! Although that might help. I just meant we'll have to be very quiet and fly under the radar."

Thayne snorted. "I don't think you should fly anywhere. Your track record isn't exactly spotless," he said pointedly.

"I resent that. You try flying with laser canons trying to shoot you out of the air," Revan retorted.

"I have. And I haven't crash landed on a half crazed planet before," he shot back.

"Fine. _You_ drive next time. Then you can hack sarcasm from me," Revan sniffed.

"Could we?" Atton growled, shouldering between the two.

Revan immediately switched gears. She faced Atton, her face deadly serious. "Here," she said, handing him a palm-sized datapad, "These are the directions to where you and Case will need to go. They're in Jumba Code, so you should be able to read it." She referred to a code her men had been taught to use when sending messages. As far as she knew, it had still not been deciphered by the Republic.

"Why are you giving it to me? You planning on dying?" Atton asked in a hushed, slightly curious voice.

"No, but if Case holds a grudge even half of what yours is I may not be able to walk away from a fight," Revan replied.

"She won't kill you here," Atton said.

"You weren't there. She…was the only one to go through what happened. It should have killed her. It didn't. I don't think I can do what Malachor failed to do," she said slowly, deathly serious.

Atton stared at her for a moment, his eyes clouded. "Fine," he said eventually, accepting the datapad.

Revan let out the breath she didn't know she had been holding. "Right. Let's go get her."

XXXXX

Case gazed around her at the handful of people moving to and fro, looking busy with their efforts to retake their planet. There were sparse furnishings and even fewer defenses. She frowned at the array of weapons Lord Virote had showed her. Apparently Xent was not much of a military planet. The Twelve's supposed claim of peace was one that they tried to enforce on the population, so real weapons were few and far between when they could be found.

When they had first arrived, Virote had seemed so triumphant about recruiting her that Case did not see the glares she received from everyone else in the compound. She wondered what made them so hostile toward her. Resolving to ask Virote later, she had ignore it, feeling that none of them would try anything while she was a guest of their leader.

"Virote, with all due respect, the weapons you have available aren't going to be much help in a rebell…" Case cut off, her eyes widening. "That's… impossible," she whispered. Her stomach clenched as though someone had driven their fist into her.

"What is impossible?"

Case was thrown back to years before, feeling the horror and power of the time so long ago. That woman was responsible for the all the lives saved and lost in the Jedi Civil War, and now the great paradox had returned. A feeling Case had not expected bubbled to the surface of her mind; she wanted to kill her for what she had started, for what she had ended.

Quickly fighting the urge to harm her, Case made herself think of the implications of Revan's appearance on Xent. It meant Case was headed in the right direction for once, it meant that she could finally do something to help the galaxy… and yet she couldn't stop the anger she felt toward the woman she had trusted. She had been a fool to follow her so blindly, but… there was very little one did not do when Revan asked it of them.

"Casey?"

Her name jolted Case out of her reverie. She glanced up at the man next to her. "Huh?" she said absently, slightly surprised to hear him use her name.

"What is it?"

"I just… thought of a plan that might help," she said, telling a half truth. If someone didn't die first…

"Good!" he replied, looking very pleased.

"Would it be possible for me to explore a little on my own? I need some time to plan…" She had never been very good at strategy, but Revan…

Case didn't miss the brief look of suspicion on Virote's face before he hid it. "Very well… I assume I can trust you to return?" he said, his voice almost threatening.

"In a matter of minutes," Case assured him, throwing in a little persuasion just for good measure. Not enough to sway his thoughts, but just a little picker-upper.

"I'll expect you back soon. I do not need to tell you that if you do not come back… I will have to exert measures I would rather avoid," he said calmly.

"I understand. Please excuse me," Case said, heading for the exit.

She was practically shaking from the apprehension of meeting _her_ again. She was so close… her signature was still the same inferno it had always been, like the Force was swirling around her, so closely tied to her. And yet what frightened her was that Revan's power did not come from the Force; it was all from her. It was time to face the nightmare that had haunted her for so long. And then if no one was bleeding too badly, Case would give Revan the Admiral' message.

* * *

Thanks so much to my reviewers! You're spectacular!

qt3.14159 -- Here's more Atton for you! And yes, Revan is crazy. I think it was inevitable... she actually started out in my head a serious person. That lasted about two hours.

1x1pEngUIn89 -- Ha, ha! Thanks! You listen, don't you? :)

The Outlander -- Wow, thanks so much! That's a huge compliment for me. I love to hear from people who read my stuff. :)

CrystalCatX -- Yes, Jedi are forever falling into metaphorical and literal laigrek's nests.

DanceOfWords -- First of all, love the name. Second, looting is my all time favorite thing in the games. My brothers laugh at me when I freak out without "stuff" at the start of the games. My favorite things are breathe masks, lightsabers, and shiny armor.

me (the reviewer, not Promised Flower) -- Thanks! I like Revan too. :)


	9. Never Die

My lack of updates is due to a job, a summer class, and a boyfriend who needs attention. Since these things take precedence (especially my class), my updates will be a little slower. I'll try to get them out as fast as possible, but things tend to pile up on me.

HAPPY SUMMER! Isn't summer just the greatest? My favorite things about summer are the scorching heat, suffocating humidity, and swarms of insects ready to eat my flesh and infect me with deadly diseases! Wow, I just can't believe it's summer!

A humongous THANK YOU to all who have kept reviewing my story.

* * *

Chapter Nine

"So, now what?"

"This is no time for sarcasm."

"Hey, it's a legitimate question."

"It's your tone, Korr."

"Last name basis again, are we?"

"This is _your_ fault."

"Yes, because if I hadn't kicked that snake into the alarm system..."

"……We can't dwell on the past. Besides, it was on my _foot! _And you're the one who was all "down the chute, down the chute!" on us!"

"Hey, I'd appreciate if you two could shut up for a second."

Revan complied, feeling that she should give Atton the silence he asked for considering the task he had undertaken. For the third time that year, Revan found herself trapped in a garbage compacter room. As bad as that seemed, she was thankful it wasn't like the incident several months ago that had landed her in a garbage incinerator. That was one of her more brilliant blunders.

They had been sneaking closer to the house when an enormous purple snake had slithered toward Revan's leg. She had reacted rationally by kicking it away from her, but to her shock it triggered an alarm that opened the ground underneath them. They tumbled into the foul smelling bowels of the compound, their fall cushioned by questionably spongy materials, and the rest was history. In her defense, she _hated_ snakes. Just the thought of them made her skin rise in bumps and her muscles shiver.

"How's the lock coming?" Revan asked Atton after a moment of silence.

"Just a few more seconds… Ha! Primitive," Atton muttered proudly as the mechanism slid back with a clang. He put his hand on the knob and twisted. The lock slammed home. Atton cursed. "It's a flavion lock," he growled irately.

Thayne winced. "Eh. Glad you're here then. I'd probably shoot someone with the frustration of trying to open that thing," he said, glancing at Revan.

"Hey!"

"I'm kidding," Thayne said hurriedly, a grin touching the corners of his mouth. He seemed inexplicably cheerier since they had landed in the garbage pit. Revan wondered about his sanity. But then her company was never made up of sane people.

Atton swore loudly as the lock once again defeated him. His fist slammed into the metal, denting it inconsequentially. After taking a breath, he went back at it, attacking the mechanism with a vengeance.

"Let's assume I don't know what a flavion lock is," Revan said, crossing her arms contemplatively, "What does it do?"

"It gives you crap until you're ready to blow someone's brains out," Atton growled, hacking at the lock, "Like he said." He jerked his head at Thayne.

"Then give it crap back."

"And set off another alarm? I'd rather not pinpoint our location for them, thanks. Why don't you just do your through-the-wall trick?"

"Yes, because that worked so well last time. As much as I'd love to be lying helpless and bleeding—"

"How did you do it?" Atton interrupted, swinging around to fix his gaze on Revan.

Revan gripped her elbows with her hands, arms still around her waist. That was something she'd rather not remember. Atton still stared at her, his expression hard. Thayne was listening as well. She would have to give them some sort of answer; they deserved it, and being cryptic wasn't her favorite thing to do.

"I… met someone past the Rim who knew things about the Force that no one else does. He taught me how to rearrange myself to fit between the atoms of the wall. It itches sometimes," she said slowly, gauging the expressions of her companions.

"What side was this guy on?" Atton asked, his voice suspicious.

"No side. He's a neutral Force user."

Atton snorted disbelievingly as he went back to the lock. Thayne looked at her passively, his face betraying no opinion on the matter. Revan scowled at both of them, cursing her luck to have two strong-minded people with her; she couldn't even peek at their thoughts. Lately she had begun adapting Carth's philosophy: surprises weren't always good.

Ignoring the pain in her chest when she thought of the Republic pilot she had left behind, Revan turned her attention to the lock Atton was trying to pick. She had never seen anything like it, and though she was generally good with anything mechanical, she would have no idea how to pick the thing. The thought irritated her to no end; what if the pair of them asked her something important she couldn't dodge? It wasn't the right time to tell them anything like that. Later.

Suddenly the lock clicked open and didn't slide back. "Finally!" Revan exclaimed.

"I didn't do anything," Atton said darkly.

"What do you mean? The frakking thing is open…"

The latches released and the door began to swing open. Revan couldn't get used to the odd style of door. Behind it was a figure cloaked in the dark of the hall beyond the garbage room. Reaching out with her mind, Revan probed at the figure. Shock stabbed her belly; it was the Exile. Fear slipped past her mental blocks as she momentarily lost control in her surprise. She hadn't expected to find her so soon. Or for her to find them, more like.

"You done getting thrashed by a lock?" Case asked, stepping into the dull green light of the trash room, "They use flavion."

"Yeah, I noticed," Atton murmured.

Revan felt relief, pleasure, and apprehension roll off in waves from Atton before he too slammed down mental barriers. He too had a tie to Case in some way, though from the manner in which he was looking at her, Revan doubted it was the same. She had betrayed Case and left everyone who had trusted her, Atton had nothing on such a scale despite his previous "work" with Jedi.

"Yes, you came just in time. I was afraid the walls would start closing in," Revan said, stepping forward, trying to keep her voice humorous.

Case's eyes hardened. "I thought I felt you." Her gaze shifted to Thayne, who stood casually against the door frame. "Who's this?"

"Thayne Korr," he said, extending his hand. Case accepted and greeted him with a nod.

"As much fun as introductions are, I'm thinking it would be safest to talk somewhere out of the way," Revan suggested, shifting on her feet as she felt something brush her ankle, resisting the urge to whip out her blaster and start shooting.

"We can't get much more out of the way than here, actually," Case said calmly, "But if you don't want to be shot, I'd suggest you let me take you to see Virote."

Revan took note of Atton's darkened face at Case's casual mention of that Virote person. She assumed he was the one she was engaged to. "That sounds wonderful. Just so I have my story straight, who are we and why are we here?" Revan asked.

"I told him I was from this planet; servant turned bride, as it were," Case informed.

Raising an eyebrow, Revan struggled not to chuckle; no one would have believed that. Case looked, acted, and thought nothing like the natives of Xent. However, the damage was done and Revan would stick to it; if people said something often enough and convincingly enough, others tended to believe it.

"Sounds good," Revan said, "I'm already in their system, so I shouldn't have much of a prob—"

"What? When?" Case interrupted, her eyes wide with surprise.

"Quite a while ago. Nothing we need to discuss here. I just need someone to be my husband," she said, waving her hand dismissively. "Not that I'm desperate or anything," she said, winking at Thayne.

"Don't look at me," Thayne grunted as Revan's eyes locked onto him. She grinned; he shivered.

"Actually, you're the only other person they don't know. Now, if you'd rather have them set you up with a nice little wife while you're here, be my guest. Otherwise, you and I are hitched."

Thayne looked at her with a mixture of irritation and… no, just irritation.

Revan smiled at him. "If you agree to my proposition, say 'I do,'" she said, laughter evident in her voice.

Shaking his head, Thayne turned to Case and asked, "Are there more like her in your Jedi Order?"

"Well, there were some like her, but they're mostly dead and buried," Case replied, sounding confused.

"Keep them there," Thayne growled.

"So you accept? Thank the Force. I would hate resorted to violence," Revan said with mock relief. "Your name is Remalus Lonan, and I'm your ecstatic wife Jiji."

"You're kidding," Thayne said.

"I never kid," Revan replied.

"Revan."

Wincing inwardly, Revan turned to Case.

"We need to talk. But later; now isn't the time."

Revan couldn't have agreed more. With a solemn nod, she motioned for Case to lead the way out of the garbage room, hoping this Virote was a reasonable enough character. Something told her that there was more going on than Case was telling them, but Revan had little doubt that more would be revealed very soon.

Case led the way down various passages and through a multitude of rooms until they reached an antechamber that looked like it had seen better days… much better, hopefully. There were large cracks in the wall that probably had critters living in them, and the floor held a healthy layer of dust that floated up in puffs as they walked forward. Revan did a double take when she glanced back to see the footprints they surely left; there were none. The dust settled back to the ground and left no indication that people had passed by. She was looking forward to meeting that Virote person.

"So," Revan said conversationally, "what's going on with the whole marriage thing?"

"I was put up for grabs and Virote and Atton bid for me," Case said shortly, her voice tight.

Revan winced at Case's tone, but kept on. "So they stuck you with what's-his-head?"

"Just for a few days. The idio—they are supposed to dual for me or something," Case snorted.

"It's not a dual, really, it's…" Revan trailed off, not wanting to think about the trials.

"What?" Atton asked curiously.

"More like an execution," Revan murmured.

Case stopped dead and swung around, nearly braining Thayne in the process, who ducked just at the right time. "It's a what?" she demanded, eyes blazing.

"One of them has to die," Revan replied evenly, watching as emotion roiled inside Case.

"Why didn't anyone tell me this?" she whispered harshly, voice cracking.

Shrugging, Revan answered, "You aren't important enough. They thought you knew or didn't care if you were ignorant."

Conflict raged behind Case's eyes. Revan watched curiously; anger was not what she had expected to see. Panic, perhaps, or determination to find a way out. Anger was interesting. Glancing at Atton, she saw his face harden into a mask.

"On the bright side," Revan continued, "If they both die, you get to live on your own and inherit half of what each of them own. That rule leads to quite a few scandals, but—"

"How do I stop it?" Case interrupted.

"No idea. You'll just have to play it by ear." Revan turned to Atton. "You've got the worst deal; you die or you get married, which is a kind of death in itself, wouldn't you say?"

"You have no idea," Atton grumbled.

Revan turned back to Case, her features serious. "Case, I think you should tell us what's going on," she said, her voice low.

"Soon. Just trust me; Virote will explain the situation," Case answered, turning to continue their trek. She stopped at a short door and knocked. It quickly swung open to reveal the livid face of a small bearded man.

The man's hand quickly swung to his blaster, but before he could get a shot off Atton was on him. The blaster clattered to the floor as the man clutched at his neck where Atton had his arm wrapped tightly around his larynx region.

"I'd hold very still if I were you," Atton growled, pressed the blade of a shiv to the man's throat. That stopped any struggling.

"Sir, they're with me. Lord Virote is expecting us… well, me," Case explained quickly, "We'll let you go when we see him. Can't have you setting off a false alarm."

Revan's gaze snapped up when she caught sight of a tall, dark-skinned man. His walked upright, anger in his eyes. "We've got company," she hissed at Thayne.

"What is this mess?" the man said, striding up to the group, eyeing the man in a headlock angrily. His eyebrows lowered when he saw who was holding the man; Atton. He turned coldly toward Case, who waved apologetically.

"This isn't exactly how I was thinking of making an entrance, but… well, when you travel with crazies…" Case said with a shrug.

"Lord Virote, I assume," Thayne said, eyeing the newcomer analytically.

"Yes, and I assume you have a reason relevant enough to prevent your deaths," Virote replied icily to the group.

Revan glanced back into the room Virote had come from and caught sight of people carrying supplies and a few packages that looked suspiciously like weapons. They were planning a war, she realized with a sinking feeling. Wherever she went…

"We're going to help you win your battles," Revan said quickly in response to Virote's challenge.

"They're the ones I went to get," Case explained, "And this is…Jiji. She's done a lot of study on the art of war. She can help you."

Virote sighed. "It seems our operation is not as obscure as we'd like it to be." Turning to Revan, he said, "I would welcome your help, but if I find Case's trust misplaced in you, I will take action."

Revan nodded understandingly. "Fair enough. Back at 'cha."

"Would you like to see our preparations so far?" Virote asked, eyeing her strangely.

"It would help. Battle plans would also be useful. I'm all for winging it, but other people don't do quite as well with excessive amounts of spontaneity." Revan glanced at Case. "Except maybe her."

"There's the understatement of the month," Atton grunted under his breath.

It took no time at all to review the plans and check out the weapon arsenal. Revan was not impressed with either those or the selection of soldiers. She supposed that for an underground rebellion on such a strictly ruled planet it was above and beyond what could be expected, but she couldn't shake her misgivings about the whole plan.

There were so many holes in the plan that it resembled cheese, and the weapons would be about as useful as launching over boiled noodles at the enemy's heads. Revan knew things were bad when she started using food analogies in her mind.

"So, you want to take your planet out of the Twelve's evil clutches; that's it in a nutshell, right?" Revan asked after finishing up a meeting with Virote's appointed battle councilors.

"You say that as if it is impossible to achieve," Virote said coldly.

"No, no. Almost nothing's impossible at one point or other, but this… needs a lot of work," Revan replied absently, her mind already busy making the necessary calculations for a better plan.

"And what would you suggest?"

Hesitating a moment, Revan replied, "I'm guessing you'd be upset if I said the best way to win this is to send the four of us in and keep you all out of it."

Virote's livid glare was answer enough.

"Right then. Here's what I'm thinking…" Revan said, slapping her hands and rubbing them together in anticipation.

XXXXX

Atton rubbed his temple with the pads of his fingers, preparing to embark on yet another harebrained Jedi scheme. It was bad enough with just Case calling the shots, but now with another insane female Jedi running around playing War General, there was bound to be enough trouble to kill them all six times over.

He shot a tentative look at Case while Revan review the blueprints for the Twelve's sanctuary; he already knew them from an earlier examination. Case had her eyes locked on the dark-haired woman in front of her, focusing on every word that was being said. Atton could already see it starting; it had happened before to many…and to him.

When Revan spoke the galaxy sat up and took notice. An order from Revan was law to those who followed her, and the road she chose could lead to hell itself, but so long as she told one to go, it was down the road one went. Atton could see Virote's steely resistance to the newcomer faltering; Case was already making plans in her head, he could tell; Thayne Korr was in so deep that Atton doubted the man would ever get free.

By the end of Revan's discussion, everyone had a basic idea of battle plan, or the first draft at least. Atton enjoyed the shock on Thayne and Virote's faces when they realized the brilliance of the Jedi's ten minute plan. Months of minds working over and over methods of attack had not amounted to half Revan's plot. Now they would see her as all shiny and new, and Force knew how people liked shiny things.

"Clear?" Revan asked the group. All nodded affirmatively.

"I think I may have misjudged you. You could be the final piece we need to bring life back into our planet. Freedom may soon be ours," Virote murmured as he glanced from Case to Revan.

Revan snorted. "Yes, well if you keep up like this, you'll be caught and shot right through your moral scruples."

"What does that mean?" Virote questioned indignantly.

Waving her hand at the surrounding area, Revan clarified, "Your troops need real training. My husband and I have learned battle styles from other planets that would be useful here." She glanced at Thayne and winked. He gave her a grimace that was perhaps meant to be a smile.

"And you can give them that training," Virote concluded.

"No. Not enough time. I can give lessons in basics, but with the timetable you proposed, that's all I can do. Just… think about my first plan," Revan finished hesitantly.

"We need to fight and if necessary die to get our planet back," Virote replied, his voice heavy with finality.

"Just consider it." Revan glanced at Case and squared her shoulders. "If you'll excuse me, I need to talk to Roanoke."

Case nodded and followed Revan away from the group. Atton watched them go, apprehension coiling uncomfortably in his abdomen; he was fairly sure they wouldn't kill each other just yet, not with others depending on them. And yet he wouldn't be at all surprised if they came back with bruises from trying to bash the other's head in. Not that he was opposed to a woman-on-woman brawl, he thought with a smile.

"Should we be worried about that?" Thayne asked quietly, jerking his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the disappearing Jedi women.

"Yeah, I'd keep my head low for a while," Atton murmured back, "Those two have nasty history."

"You think your Case will try something?" Thayne asked, folding his arms contemplatively over his chest.

"She's pretty big on the whole forgiveness thing," Atton said, pained that she had had to forgive so much from him, "You know the "new" Revan better than I do. Sense anything happening there?"

"She's afraid," Thayne murmured, staring after the path the two Jedi had taken.

Atton shot him a look of surprise. Revan was afraid. Not sure what to think of that, he kept his senses open, ready to jump in if trouble developed; he wasn't about to let something happen right after they had all found each other again. He glared in the direction Virote had disappeared. Something was wrong there, he felt. Like the whole thing was skewed off balance just enough to blur things. That would blow up in someone's face.

XXXXX

"This is probably the best time to talk. You won't try to kill me while we're in the middle of a revolu—" Revan broke off as an orange lightsaber flew at her head. She ducked and whipped out her double blade, crouching down in combat stance.

Case caught her saber as it flew back to her hand. Her face was clouded as she faced her former commander.

"What the hell was that?" Revan demanded, not relenting her stance.

"Do you understand what you did?" Case asked, her voice deliriously calm under the circumstances.

Revan slowly straightened, her hand still gripping the hilt of her weapon. "I understand in ways you can't."

"You weren't there when the galaxy began to die from what we did to it," Case hissed, her face livid.

"From what I hear, neither were you," Revan replied coolly.

"I was there to pick up the pieces and pull your blade out of the Republic's heart," Case sniped.

Breathing deeply, Revan powered down her saber and slid it back into her belt, ready to pull it out again if she need to. How to answer Case's remarks? There wasn't a direct answer that would satisfy the woman, not that Revan could tell her just yet.

"It was never my intention to end the Republic or the galaxy," Revan said finally.

"I know; you wanted to save it. Kreia told me everything she knew about what you did and why you did it. Even she didn't really understand it all. But she trusted you; "like looking into the heart of the Force," she said, when she looked at you."

Revan was struck. "Kreia… she lived. And…trained you?" she questioned.

"More or less. Turns out she wanted me dead as much as she wanted to save me," Case said carelessly.

"She's alive?" Revan asked.

"No. I killed her. And Sion," Case replied darkly.

"I see. Sion… well done. He was… gone long ago. Nihilus?" she said the last name carefully.

"Gone. Visas, a Miraluka, helped me defeat him. She was his apprentice," Case replied.

"Ah. The rule of two," Revan murmured softly, "And he is truly gone?"

"Yes."

"I see…" she said slowly.Revan felt the tensions flowing from Case. "You're afraid. To be like him is your nightmare."

After a moment of silence, Case stepped closer, her face like thunder. Revan held her ground. "Revan," Case said, as if testing the name on her tongue, "what were you thinking?"

Slightly disarmed by the complexly simply question, Revan didn't reply for a moment. When she did, uncertainty tainted her voice. "I knew I could do it," Revan said softly, "And I knew you would all follow. And when I saw what waited to devour the galaxy, I knew someone had to stand in the way."

"So you abandoned everything good you knew," Case snarled.

"Yes. The light side couldn't do what needed to be done. I needed force and strength. The light side keeps forces at bay; I needed to destroy. It's… easier than people say," Revan ended tentatively.

"The dark side is always easier, it seems," Case snapped, "But sticking to the right thing, now that's just stupid." Sarcasm dripped from her last words.

"It is if it kills your galaxy. The Order had no idea of what they faced. The Jedi can sometimes see beyond what the normal beings can, but even they have their blind spots. This was a big one."

"I followed you to save lives. Somewhere along the way I liked killing those who would force death upon innocents; I can admit to that. As someone once told me… my body count is higher than almost anyone alive today. With the exception of you, I think. I was the one who ended those lives at Malachor.

"But there's something I don't understand, Revan; why weren't you almost killed as I was? Kreia told me that you too form bonds very quickly. And yet you escaped the death at Malachor without so much as a broke heartstring."

Revan clenched her fist around her saber dangling from her belt. "There were none on the planet who were loyal to me. That's why they were there. I…I couldn't have them opposing what I was trying to do," she answered, detached from the words she spoke. It was like describing a different person, and yet it was her.

"So you killed them," Case said calmly.

"Most of them. I didn't realize at the time just how tied you were to them. I've never seen anything like it," Revan said, fascinated still with what had happened so long ago. "And you did it; you broke your tie to the Force."

"This isn't about what I've done, Revan. You left me for dead."

"There have never been any quite like us," Revan said contemplatively, "We're so different and yet incredibly similar. I wonder what future historians will make of it."

"Blood runs through both our veins," Case said coldly, "That's where our similarity ends. I'm nothing like you."

"Perhaps not," Revan said, shrugging, "but our pasts and futures intersect and intertwine. I'm not thrilled about it either, but we need to do what has to be done."

Case sighed, pressing a hand to her forehead. "I'm not sorry about going to war; I'm sorry I didn't see what you were doing until it was too late. And Malak… I could have done something if I'd just opened my frakking eyes," she growled.

"No, you couldn't. He was so much stronger than you were. But now…" Revan looked Case up and down, "You're…" Like no other human, Revan finished mentally.

"It doesn't matter what the hell I am," Case snapped, "I'm not finished with you. After this revolution—"

"I'll tell you everything and anything you want. _After_ all this is over," Revan promised.

Case eyed her dubiously, and Revan could see thoughts swirling behind her eyes. Revan wondered how everything would end and what kind of beginning that end would lead to. She could feel a rotten core of apprehensive premonition growing inside of her; things would not end all well – nothing ever did.

"You think we can win this?" Case asked eventually, choosing to ignore their previous conversation.

Relived they could move on for the moment, Revan nodded. "Sure. The revolution won't be difficult. It'd be easier if Virote just let us do it, but that's my opinion. But other things… I don't know. Something's off here. Can't you feel it?"

"I'm not sure. Insight into the things closest to me has never been my gift," Case admitted ruefully.

Revan nodded absently as she went over in her mind the plans for the battle. Stealth was their best weapon, and yet the men and women they had at their disposal were about as sneaky as a gamorrean in plasteel boots. Many would die, she was sure. And yet it was the ones in her own company that she worried about most. Wounds closer to the heart could kill – she was afraid their enemies knew that all too well.

* * *

I'll update when I can. THANK YOU!! to everyone who has stuck with me this long. Ironically I have more time for this when school's in session. Freaky, huh?


	10. Conversations and Interlocutions

This chapter is called "Conversations and Interlocutions." Redundant, yes? It was going to be called "Why The Heck Do These People Talk So Much?" but the second one wouldn't fit, so voila! Lots of dialog written late at night. That's when I can write the most, but usually I fall asleep. How crazy! Sleeping at night. Psh!

Okey dokey. The chit chat has a purpose. Had to set a few things up. Don't know what yet, but I'm sure it's in there. ;)

I am going crazy! Usually I try not to think about things I want _right now_ because it makes me nuts, but writing this story makes me think about KotOR and KotOR II, and that makes me wonder if anyone is EVER GOING TO MAKE A **SEQUEL**!

Has ANYONE heard anything about KotOR III? _Anything_ substantial and substantiated. I don't care for frauds or fiction. I want cold hard facts, darn it! Curse the addictive game!

Also, they need some good voice actors if they make a third game. I liked the characters in Sith Lords, but some lines were just mangled beyond repair by the nasty lack of inflection and fake -- if any -- emotion in the voices. Or it sounded very, very scripted. Whoever voiced Carth in KotOR I was excellent. And Bao's voice is very nice. :)

I beg you! Let me know if you know anything!

Alright, I am done groveling. Thanks!

* * *

Chapter Nine

_"I love talking about nothing. It's the only thing I know anything about." -- An Ideal Husband_

A deep sigh washed through and out of Revan, relaxing her constricted muscles as it traveled from her toes to the tips of her raven hair. It was the night before the first battle of the revolution. Subsequently, it was also the night before Case's wedding and the trials for her hand. Revan had expected Atton to drop out of the competition since there was an alternative way to escape, and yet neither man had made a move to back down. Typical males.

Luckily, part of her plan was for Virote to renounce his claim. One of the Twelve would be performing the ceremony under the expectation that the prestigious Virote would emerge victorious from the trials. That was the reason Virote wouldn't drop out until the last second. Whichever of the Twelve was assigned to the marriage would be unable to back out of the ceremony in time. That would get Atton and Case close enough to take him hostage and hopefully get inside his head. Fortunately, weddings were not heavily guarded, even when one of the Twelve was there. Who would pull a stunt at a wedding? No one from Xent would dare. Even Virote had hesitated when Revan revealed her plan. That hesitation was one reason she opted for Atton to be the pseudo husband instead of the young lord.

Revan sighed as the enormous lake shivered in the dying light. She watched the sun sinking toward the water's surface, minutes away from being drowned. It was peaceful on the balcony of Virote's manor; silent. A shiver ran through her as she thought about what the dawn would hold. The confrontation would have to go all the way up to the Twelve themselves. She was eager to arrive at that point; something was not right with them, and she couldn't wait to find out what. She was a sucker for mysteries.

"Revan?"

Glancing up, Revan saw Case striding toward her, determination lining her features. She sighed, knowing another confrontation was likely. It seemed she couldn't get away from them.

"What's on your mind?" she asked.

Case said nothing until she drew even with Revan. They both stared out at the setting sun, listening to the silence broken only by the waves colliding with the rocky shore.

"Why are you here?" Case asked unexpectedly.

"Here where? This planet specifically, or why did I choose this career path?" Revan joked lightly.

Frowning, Case shook her head. "I mean why are you doing all this? You have to know how this is going to end up."

"You mean painfully and probably abrupt? Yeah, I know," she replied, "But in all fairness, mining is almost just as dangerous as being a Jedi. I'd know; did that for a few months to get some credits. Nasty job."

"I'm serious," Case growled, turning to face Revan.

"What is it?" Revan sensed a growing anxiety behind Case that had nothing to do with the impending war. Well, almost nothing.

"I have visions sometimes," Case started slowly, "Sometimes about the present, sometimes about the past or… This one was about the future."

Revan listened, fascinated. She had heard of Jedi possessing a sort of precognition, but she had never met anyone who had it. More than likely it was a product of Case's unusual connection to the Force. Unique functions of the Force had always fascinated Revan, which was why she had taken up the old Force-user on his offer to train her to rearrange herself to squeeze through solid objects. Itched like hell, but it was useful.

"What?" Revan said, snapping back to the present. She hadn't caught what Case had said.

"It was about you," Case repeated.

"Ah. Do I manage kill the galaxy this time?" Revan asked, suddenly unimpressed.

"No. It kills you."

_Interesting twist_, Revan thought, unable to deny a spark of interest. "Does it? How so?"

"This," Case said, motioning all around her, "Trying to save everyone and everything. You'll die trying."

"Of course I will," Revan said bluntly.

Case hesitated, seeming to be struggling with something. "I wasn't going to tell you. I wanted to hurt you, I guess. But I'm just hurting him by not saying anything, and he helped me enough that I owe him this."

Waiting patiently for Case to explain herself, Revan couldn't keep away the feeling of apprehension, almost excitement that filled her. She hoped against hope that Case was talking about what she hoped she was talking about.

"Admiral Onasi spoke to me right before I left Telos," Case continued, "He had a message for you."

"Telos is still alive?" Revan asked, feeling her guts twist into uncomfortable knots at the sound of his name. She couldn't hear it yet. She needed to stall. Her heart was beating fast enough to explode.

Revan felt herself soar high on the wings of joy, but just as suddenly a thought hit joy square in the chest and sent her spiraling to the ground. She looked at Case closely, studying her expression, her tone, everything. She could hear the care in Case's voice when she spoke about Carth. Revan was disgusted with herself, but she couldn't push away the little worm of jealously that dug at her. Why shouldn't Case care for Carth? It was mostly a free galaxy.

With a determined tug, Revan forced her attention back to Case.

"Yes, Telos is alive," Case said slowly, no doubt wondering why Revan wasn't jumping out of her skin to hear what the Admiral had to say, "It was all going to hell, but we managed to help the Ithorians get control over Czerka."

"Thanks for that. It…Telos is important to the Republic…to him. And Czerka sucks," Revan said with a small smile.

"Czerka what?"

"Nothing. Just an expression. What…did he say?"

"The message he gave me or the one he gave T3?" Case asked slyly.

"He gave T3 a message?" Revan asked incredulously. "The sneak! That means…" _He must have known I was leaving_. "The one he gave T3 first, if you don't mind, Case."

"I have it here," Case said, pulling out her datapad, "Would you like to see it?"

"I…no. Yes, I mean."

Case set the datapad on the wide rail and hit the playback button. Carth's wavering holo image stood before them. Revan's breath caught in her throat at the sight of him. Her heart beat painfully in her chest, threatening to break. She wondered how she had managed to leave him. If it hurt so badly to see this weak image of him, what would really seeing him do to her? No matter, she was glad to see any part of him. It had been so long.

"T3, there's not much time – I've seen that expression on her face before. Now I don't know where she's planning on going, but it's dangerous."

Revan raised an eyebrow. Like he was always so safe. Everywhere they went and everything they did was life threatening. She swallowed and threw up her mental walls, refusing to let her emotions break her. The time for that was past. This was merely informational gathering. That was all. Nothing more. Simple as that. Only informational.

"She's going to leave without telling me – I don't know why, but there's a chance she'll take you. If she does, I need you to watch out for her."

Revan's heart skipped a beat. He was always protecting her. And now she had to do the same for him. She had to stay away.

"She's strong, but she can't face everything alone. Do what you can, T3 – if she doesn't make it back, then I need you to come back, find help. If not me, then other Jedi, the Republic…"

He knew. Even without her telling him anything, he knew how important her mission was. And he didn't try to stop her. And that was why Case was with her at that moment.

"I can't lose her, even if she wants to be lost."

A knife buried itself in Revan's heart, wrenching itself between the cracks that stretched across. The pain was crippling. She was far more lost than he knew. Far more than anyone knew. And others were going with her.

"Thank you," Revan whispered. Her voice would not rise above low tones.

Case watched her closely, gauging her reaction. "I thought you'd want to see that. The message he _intended_ you to hear he gave to me."

"What is it?" Revan blurted before she could help herself.

"He said to tell you that Carth Onasi is waiting for you."

Emotion grabbed Revan by the throat, choking her. Doubts buffeted her mind, but she pushed them away. The past wasn't there when one tried to go back to it. It no longer existed in the real world, only in memories. For her to pretend otherwise would be disastrous. Billions of lives depended on her letting go of what she wanted and what she had. And let go she would… when she could find the strength. For now she simply kept moving on, stretching the threads that kept her tied to her desires.

"Then he'll wait forever," Revan murmured.

"You'll die if you keep going."

"Yes."

"Then go back to him," Case snarled, "And stop this! I can do this without you. It'll kill you. Even if you deserve it, he doesn't."

Revan smiled a sad smile, and the pain in her eyes reached out to Case. _No, Carth doesn't deserve anything but happiness._ "Everything dies. It's just a question of how, where, and when. I was always meant to die this way."

"Are you so determined to make sure you're never happy that you'll sacrifice _his_ happiness too? Just leave! Atton and I are more than enough to—"

"Case," Revan cut in, "I need you to understand this."

"What?" Case snapped.

With a deep sigh, Revan turned to the open sea in front of them. The sun was dying, sinking behind the planet, leaving behind it a trail of blood light that seeped into the sea, tainting the water red. She watched as it bled into the depths, staining the edges of land that were in sight. It was this she saw as she contemplated her future; the future without a future.

"If I don't do this, it's over. Eventually someone would be able to fix things, but not for thousands of years. That's why I'm here; to stand between this… thing and the galaxy. Take a look at the horizon… there's nothing there for me," Revan said. Breath was pulled into her lungs as she inhaled sharply, feeling the sharp pain of despair burrow into her.

"Look the other way; he's waiting," Case whispered.

"There isn't anything else. It doesn't matter what I want. I can't go back, even if I want to. I can't leave the galaxy to die… I can't go to him and let him die," she choked out, "Damn it, he's going to live whether he wants to or not."

"There are worse things than death, you know," Case replied softly.

Revan raised her shaking hands to her face, watching as they trembled of their own accord. "Can't you see the blood on my hands? It isn't the kind I can wash off."

"Then live with it. You think the rest of us don't have a river of blood behind us?"

The blood Revan had bathed in had stained too deep. She couldn't knowingly let more have their lives taken if she could save them.

"He deserves more than an ex-Jedi with nothing but trouble and death hounding her. He was married once, did you know? He was happy then and he can be again," Revan said firmly.

Case narrowed her eyes at the older woman. "No he won't. I saw it in him. You're it for him."

"Stupid pilot doesn't know when to let go," Revan muttered, resisting the urge to flee to safety.

"He won't sit and wait, you know. And he won't go looking for something to make him happy. It's you he wants. And he won't stop until he finds you or he dies. He'll protect the Republic because he's loyal, but he'll protect you because he loves you."

Revan clenched her fists tightly. "I'm going to get some rest," she said, sidestepping Case's words.

"Yeah, fine," Case said softly, "I could use some meditation before tomorrow. I'm not… calm right now."

Revan snorted. "I like sleep. Not that crap you and your students do. You should try that. You know, the whole shebang. With snoring, REM cycles, gizka shaped drool patterns on your pillow…"

"Yeah, maybe I'll try it when we're not at the edge of a battle," Case replied wryly.

"Case, you should know by now: we're _always_ fighting one battle or another." With that, Revan turned and left her ex-general behind, headed in for a short night of sleep.

"Revan," Case called.

Revan didn't stop.

"Is it death you fear, or is it living? What would you do if you have a life to live? You've never considered it, have you?" And then so quiet that Revan almost missed it, "None of us have…"

XXXXX

Atton leaned comfortably back in his seat, his legs stretched out in front of him and one arm slung over the back of the chair. His eyes were trained on the extremely agitated Jedi in front of him as she paced back and forth across his room.

"I tried to tell her, but she was all "This is my fate and I'll die if I damn well please" and wouldn't listen to a word I said," Case growled, flailing her arms as she vented her frustration to the pilot.

"So, I'm sensing you're upset," Atton said.

Case shot him a glare as she continued to pace, resting her hands on the small of her back. "She's just… given up," she said with a sigh.

"Yes. Giving her life to save the galaxy. Way to take the easy way out," Atton agreed.

"Shut up. I came for advice, not snarky comments."

"Well, excuse me if I don't care what happens to her. As long as whatever hellish ordeal she's dealing with is resolved, she can do what she wants." Atton idly picked up a small fruit from a weaved basket on the table next to him. He tossed it into the air and caught it as it fell. It was hard and purple. It smelled delicious, but he suspected it would feel like eating a rock.

"She might as well feed herself to a ronto for all the good she's doing by just… _dying_," Case snarled.

"Don't be ridiculous. Rontos are vegetarians," Atton said unhelpfully.

Pressing a hand to her forehead, Case grimaced. "The truth is… what she's doing scares me."

Atton's fist tightened around the fruit. "Why's that?" He tried to look stoic, unconcerned. He suspected he was failing miserably.

"Because… that's what it always comes to, isn't it? Jedi die. That's what we do. Precious few Jedi die of natural causes. Should we even be reviving the Order? Are we just delaying the inevitable by doing so?"

While he listened to her ranting, Atton caught the source of her anxiety. "You're worried about the group back in Republic space," he said.

Case kept pacing. "What if I've condemned them to die?" she said quietly, "Do you think it was all a mistake? I should have gone alone with Kreia, shouldn't I? Although I probably wouldn't have made it."

Atton's blood boiled at the thought of Case alone with that old hag. The crone probably would have sliced her throat in the dead of night because she thought Case was being infected by Sith bacteria or something. The only time Case had been alone with Kreia, Case had almost died when the planet exploded.

"I doubt you would pass up a stray gizka let alone a gang of misfits like us," Atton commented, spinning the fruit in his palm.

"I'm selfish. I like having people with me. You guys, specifically. I miss everyone," Case said softly.

"Well, there wasn't exactly a place you could have dropped us off. Peragus was a no go, and as much as Telos loved me, I'd rather not stay there. After that everyone tried to kill us whenever possible. It'd be nice if _one_ person was glad to see us. Even Revan dreaded finding us."

Case bounced on the balls of her feet, still agitated. "I keep thinking about what Sion told me."

"What's that?" Atton asked, automatically suspicious of anything old Sleeps-With-Vibroblades said.

"That there are no answers. I mean, what are we really looking for? In the end, we'll know nothing more about any of this."

"Don't know about you, but I think Revan knows more than she's letting on. I don't think her sidekick has a clue, though."

"Thayne?"

Atton nodded. "He's got his share of secrets, but I don't think any of them concern us," Atton observed. He watched the purple fruit as he flipped it between the fingers of his right hand.

"Think he's dangerous?"

"Not as dangerous as I am," Atton said, grinning cockily.

Case rolled her eyes and resumed her pacing. "I just can't shake the feeling that something bad is going on right in front of me, but I just can't see it."

"I feel it too," Atton murmured.

"What?"

"The end. It's coming faster than I'd like. Unfortunately, you've all got me so stuck in this mess that all my retreats are useless."

Exhaling, Case plopped into a chair facing Atton, resting her elbows on her knees. After a moment, she glanced up at him, her eyes unreadable for once.

"I wouldn't be here without you, you know," she said.

Atton did a double take. He hadn't expected that. Not knowing what she was talking about, he shrugged. "You'd be surprised how many women tell me that," he said cheekily.

Case smiled a small half smile. "Thank you. Not many people can stick with me for so long."

"Well," Atton began, stretching languidly, "You and I are set to be hitched tomorrow, remember? What kind of a man would I be if I didn't attend my own wedding?" Atton ignored the shiver of warning that shot down his spine. _Run!_ it told him. But it was part of the plan. Nobody was getting married.

"You'd be a scoundrel," Case said.

"Guilty."

After a moment of silence, Case blurted suddenly, "Why would someone want to get married? I don't understand it. I spent my whole life reveling in my freedom. I could help people and be free at the same time. It seems so confining, you know, marriage."

"Don't ask me. It's something I learned to stay away from," Atton said, "But to me it's confining for a whole other reason."

"Yeah, I'll bet," Case snorted.

"Not that reason," he muttered. Like he had time for any women with the chaos they were into. It had been well over a years since he had done anything like that. A record.

"Miss the twi'lek girl on Nar Shaddaa?" Case said.

"Who? I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Really? I'll bet she remembers."

Atton thought back. Ah, he remembered. Case had been snippy all evening, he remembered, no doubt because he had been "wasting time."

"Oh. Yeah, well…" Atton said absently, giving halfhearted scratch behind one ear, not knowing that Case liked that habit.

Case smiled at his characteristic habit. It threw her back to simpler times, when all they had to worry about were a few thousand regular, run of the mill, blood lusting Sith on their tails.

"Can I ask you something?" she said.

"Sure," Atton replied, yawning widely. It had been a while since he'd slept. Two days, probably. Xent always made him lose track of time. Something about the thicker atmosphere, he thought.

"Why did you bid for me?"

Atton shrugged casually. "I didn't have my lightsaber on me. Seemed easier than killing everyone."

"Seriously. You're no more in love with idea of marriage than I am. Less, probably."

"I figured we'd find a way out of it. If not, there's always annulment," he answered.

Case narrowed her eyes, watching him carefully. "The trials are winner-take-all; you could have died."

"Yeah, well, I didn't know that at the time," Atton said, his tone clipped. He felt inexplicably nervous by her questions. He hated people digging into his motives.

"So what would you have done?" Case asked after a moment's hesitation.

"Not that," Atton snorted. Sudden irritation made him lash out, "Are we done with the interrogation?"

Case frowned. "Right."

Atton exhaled slowly through his nose, straightening up in his seat. Case seethed in front of him. "Look, I just don't like—"

"You don't like people knowing anything about you. I get it," Case said.

"Like you're so forthcoming," Atton returned, feeling his anger stir.

"I tell you things that affect you," Case snapped.

"Oh, really? Like the fact that you made that Nihilus that way by blowing up a planet? Didn't mention that when he was trying to kill us. Right, yeah, thanks for that."

Case's mouth opened, her face bright with anger. She snapped her jaw shut, her eyes steely. After a moment of strained silence, Case spoke. "Why do you _always_ have to be so difficult?"

"Hey, if you wanted compliant putty, you should have brought Blondie with you instead. You're no picnic either, sweetheart."

"I didn't bring you! I didn't bring anyone!" Case exclaimed. Her eyes narrowed. "How _did _you know I was here? It took me two weeks to get lost enough to find this place."

Atton shrugged. "I got a tip."

"From who? The directions fairy?"

Only if the directions fairy gave birth to me and makes me call her "Mother," Atton said.

Case's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Really? Your mother," she mulled the word around in her head for a moment, "I need to meet her, I think."

"Wouldn't do that."

"Why not?"

"She hates you."

"She can join the club. They've got jackets, I hear. Why does she hate me?"

Tossing the little fruit from hand to hand, Atton slowly shook his head. "Something about you corrupting me," he replied with a look.

"What? How?"

Atton couldn't help but smile in amusement. Case hated it when others disliked her. She would be friends with the Sith if their starkly contrasting moral disputes didn't get in the way.

"She's not exactly blue," Atton said.

"She's a Sith?"

"Not a chance. She just hates people who manipulate the Force. She thinks it should be left alone, as is natural, she says."

Case caught on. "Ah. You were a good little scoundrel before I came along and made you into a _respectable_ Jedi. Well, a Jedi at any rate."

Grunting, Atton flipped the fruit from hand to hand. "The Sith and the Jedi were on their way out before you came along. You've just killed her life's dream," he said with a grin.

"I take it you two are close," Case said with a bit of sarcasm.

"Not since the umbilical cord was cut," Atton replied.

Case was silent for a moment, her thoughts unapparent to Atton. He took that moment to wonder briefly what would have happened had any of the others followed her instead. If the idiot had followed her, would she have protested against marriage so strongly? He scowled at the thought.

"Thank you."

"For what?" Atton looked questioningly at Case. Had he missed something she said?

"You kept your promise. I just wanted to thank you for it," Case explained.

"What promise is that?" he asked. He knew what she meant.

Case's face reddened a bit. "When I asked to go back to Telos, you said no. But you promised I'd see you again, so…"

"Right, I remember," Atton said. He gave her a look.

In her face, he could see she knew what he meant. She was thinking about what had happened just before he left.

"I should probably meditate," Case mumbled, averting her eyes as she stood.

Atton reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her back into the chair. Case didn't fight him. She glanced up at him, her face colored.

"You thought I'd go forever without dropping in on you? Not a chance," he said, his voice low.

"Well, I'm glad to have one of you guys around…" Case said awkwardly.

"I think you're glad it's me. Or would you prefer I was someone else?" Atton said.

"N-no. I mean, I'd rather we all be together, but…" Case tried once again to rise.

Atton grabbed her chair and pulled her closer until their knees touched. He felt Case flinch at the contact, but he ignored it and kept his hand on her arm.

He watched her for a moment, gauging her expression. He leaned toward her slightly, his body tensing. He watched her throat contract as Case swallowed hard. In a snap decision, Atton cupped the back of her neck with his free hand and moved toward her.

"Don't," she breathed, her tone anything but convincing.

He felt her shiver under his hands as he hesitated a hair's breadth away from her mouth, but she didn't pull away.

"You're stuck with me," he murmured, his moving lips brushing her mouth.

Case inhaled sharply and jumped away from him, retreating to the other side of the small room before Atton could even blink. A split second later the door swung open to reveal a servant carrying a tray of food and drink.

The servant blinked in surprise when she saw Case in Atton's room. "Here is your lunch, sir. I hope I am not interrupting," she said, setting the tray on a small table before bowing and exiting the room. The door swung shut behind her.

The silence was deafening.

XXXXX

"Hey," Thayne said, walking up behind Revan.

"Hi," she said politely, not looking away from the water as she leaned on the railing of the terrace. Then suddenly, "I told Case I would be sleeping. How could anyone sleep before this?"

"If anyone can, I'd suspect you could," Thayne said with a grin, leaning next to her.

"You'd think."

Thayne glanced at her. "There's something else on your mind," he said.

"Yes, but I hope you don't mind if I keep it to myself. It isn't relevant."

Shaking his head, Thayne said, "Why do I get the feeling that all this is going to end the wrong way?"

Revan nodded slowly. "Mmm. It feels… crooked in my mind." At Thayne's blank look, "You don't understand, I know. But that's how it feels. Like the Twelve were broken, put together, broken, again and again. They're wrong."

"Why did you bring me?" Thayne asked suddenly, forcefully.

With a shrug, Revan replied, "You wouldn't leave, if you remember."

"Yes, we've had so many opportunities for me to get off this insane ride."

"I told you, people follow me even when everything in them is screaming for them to run away. Even if I had left you on some planet, you would have come. This way was quicker," Revan said.

"And tomorrow we start a war that has nothing to do with us," Thayne said.

"That isn't necessarily true. I'm afraid it has a lot to do with the both of us."

"Me? What does anything on this frakking planet have to do with me?" Thayne asked, taken aback.

Revan smiled sadly. "I don't know yet. But you're here for a reason. We all are. You can't feel it, but the Force is what brought us to Xent."

"And the Force has a will, right?" His tone was sarcastic.

Turning back to the water, Revan didn't answer.

"You're worried about him," Thayne said.

Whipping her head around, Revan stared openly in surprise. "What?" Her voice was sharp.

"You've been different ever since you mentioned that friend of yours. You said you didn't want him to die. I just assumed it was him you were preoccupied with, crazy as that sounds right before a battle," Thayne explained with a shrug.

Smiling Revan clapped him on the shoulder. "That's just ridiculous. We're married, remember? I would never cheat on my husband."

Thayne laughed, bumping his shoulder against Revan's. "I see. You'd conquer a galaxy, but never cheat."

"Hey, Sith have morals spilling out of their ears; they just resemble evil plots more than scruples," Revan sniffed.

Suddenly serious, Thayne exhaled slowly, watching some sort of odd bird skim across the water in search of food. In a flash its beak ducked below the water and emerged with a fish, beating its wings hard to pull up and away from the manor. Thayne almost wished he could do the same.

"Have you ever really been married?" he asked.

Shaking her head, Revan replied that she had never had the time. "From eighteen to now, I've been fighting some government structure or another. Have you married?"

"Once. But that was twenty years ago. She was older than me, but so beautiful. I was only twenty at the time. She was in her early thirties with a daughter over ten years old. I loved them both immediately." Thayne stopped abruptly and shook his head. "I have no idea why I'm telling you any of this. You don't need to know, and I don't know anything about you, really."

"Come on, we know each other a little by now. People don't go through what we have and stay strangers," Revan said.

"Tell me something about you," Thayne said, "Just you."

She raised her eyebrows, looking surprised. "Not many people have asked me that before." She shrugged. "They usually want to know about my days on the Dark Side."

"I knew you before I knew Revan, so I figured… why not ask about you?"

"Seems fair, but it's more complicated than you think. Do you mean me before the wars, me during the wars, me when I didn't remember who I was, or me after I remembered?"

"That _is_ complicated. Which time was the best?"

"Before the Star Forge, after I forgot who I was. I was just Shayla, and all I was responsible for was helping the Republic. I was a good scout who knew when to break rules and when to follow them. And I had my family with me then," Revan said. She gripped the edge of the rail, fighting off the emotions that came with remembering. Maybe the Jedi Council had had the right idea when it came to painful memories.

"I'm assuming you mean your crew," Thayne said.

"Right. That was the absolute best time I've ever had. Of course, everything got shot to hell once things got more complicated, but for a while it was great."

Thayne nodded slowly, taking in what Revan had told him. He didn't know the particulars of her mission and those who went with her, but he was willing to be that her friend Carth was among them. In his life, his wife had been his best friend, until that too had been destroyed.

"Thanks," he said quietly.

"I promise you'll pull through this," Revan said unexpectedly. When Thayne just looked at her, she continued. "I understand what you were saying before. It wasn't fair for me to bring you here and into all of this. So I'll make sure you're okay through this battle."

"That wasn't what I meant, but thank you."

"Miss? Sir?"

Thayne and Revan turned to see a servant addressing them with a bow.

"Lord Virote requests your presence. He said to tell you that there are a few things he is concerned about regarding…tomorrow." The servant was clearly uncomfortable talking about the battle.

"Of course," Thayne said, walking to join the servant. He seized the opportunity to leave before Revan asked him any more questions. Things could get awkward if she hit upon the wrong line of thought.

Revan followed behind him, and Thayne couldn't help but wonder if she already knew what he had meant when he asked her why he was there.

* * *

Aahh, the end of another chapter! Thanks to you all for sticking with me. I'll try to get another chapter out as soon as I can. This one was a lot of talking, eh? A lot of times I prefer dialog, so think of this as a tribute to it. Or not. Whatever you want.

I have a crazy month coming up. I'm out of the state for most of it, so that should be interesting. Where does the summer go, I ask you.

And again, please let me know if anyone has anything on KotOR III. I'm simultaneously ecstatic about it possibly being made and filled with dread about who's going to make it.

**1x1pEngUIn89** -- Thanks! Hey, I've been meaning to ask you, what does your name mean? I've been thinking about it, but I just can't manage to figure it out.

**qt3.14159** -- Wow, thanks for the compliments. I'm glad I didn't disappoint you. :)

**CCX** -- I have NO idea why summer is busier. Maybe the stars are all misaligned or some such thing. This summer is worse than normal. I bet it's because Pluto is angry about not being a planet anymore! It has its own moon, for crying out loud.

**DanceOfWords** -- I'm glad you and your friend liked that part. It was actually inspired by one of my sisters who is afraid of spiders. It's pretty funny when she sees one.

**skywalker05** -- Ah, yes. Typos. I should really get a beta reader or something. Feel free to point any typos or anything out to me. It helps.

**The Outlander** -- I'm not sure I've ever had a nicer review. Thank you! That totally made my day! And I'm glad to hear that my before and after ramblings don't bore you too much. I tend to go on a bit, but I'm glad it entertains you. I look forward to hearing from you again. :)

**Shenene392** -- Glad you liked it! I know what you mean about time to review. Just drop me a "Good job, dude!" or a "Where's your head, chick?" if you don't have time. That works great.

**_Thank you to all who reviewed! Your input is spectacularly important to me._**


	11. Burned By Your Lucky Star

I'm back! I just spent over a week in New York, D.C., Delware (getting the song "What Did Delware" stuck in my head), and other places in the area. Was it busy? Yes. Was the weather scorching? Yes. Did I get blisters on both my feet? No, I don't really get blisters…

I hope you all had a great couple weeks, because the dreaded schxxxl is coming up. Enjoy what time you have left. I will. :(

Anyway, this chapter is longer than most because it's super late, I want to get it out before I can't, and because I don't have time to edit stuff very much. Hopefully it's better than it seems to me now at four in the morning. Ha ha ha!

So, I've just got one question for you all… What did Delware? Her New Jersey of course! Lame? Yes. Funny to me so early in the morning? Heck yes. Stupid piano song... that and "The Bear Went Over The Mountain" kill me when they're in my head. Ouch.

Hey, did I ever mention that I don't mind people reviewing my old stories? Reviews are always fun to read.

* * *

Chapter Eleven

_Case watched out of the corner of her eye as Lord Revan stood near the window of the ship, her hands folded behind her back, her face calm and hard as steel. The eyes with which she watched the battle of Malachor, once green as the trees on Kashyyk, were now flecked severely with gold. Case knew what that meant, and yet she trusted her. Revan would not condemn the galaxy to death._

_Revan turned her head to Case and nodded almost imperceptibly. Case understood. Without a word, she reached over to the console, her hands flying across it, noting Revan's immediate departure. Briefly wondering why her master would not want to see the end of the planet, Case continued working. _

_They had driven the Mandalorians back to Malachor, and now the war would finally come to an end. Case watched as the Mass Shadow Generator's power levels increased until they peaked. It was time to bring an end to it all. She hit the command button._

_Pain exploded behind her eyes and dug into her body, finding every nerve in every part of her, ripping, tearing, killing her. She felt herself crack, falling to the ground as she heard the cries all who died on the planet below her, felt the Mass Shadow Generator trap she had helped create pry the life from the bodies of the men and women who had served under her; those who had not been entirely obedient to Revan._

_She screamed with them, feeling herself die as they did. Fear broke through the pain, consuming her, swallowing her in its fiery darkness. She broke, shattered beyond repair and understanding, living as one dead. And she hated herself and all life. The dark called out to her in her brokenness, calling her to death even in life. So sweet was the call._

_But then she saw them, all of them, who had given their lives for her. They screamed at her, they cried and tore at her. Let them. They were weak if they could not stay alive, whispered a voice in her head. She could be strong, stronger even than Revan if she would just let the dark into her. Let it take her. She wanted it; there was so much pain. The darkness could make it numb, make her never feel that pain again._

_Light exploded behind her eyes. And then she saw the dark for what it was; nothing. It was simply an absence of light. To be a void… that was what she would become. She tore away from the dark, she ripped away from the light, falling into the middle world where nothing existed, and yet nothing did not exist; there was everything and nothing. And she saw Revan for what she was: nothing. And she saw herself for what she was not._

_She reached out to the universe around her. Panic struck her as she found herself blind to the Force. She searched for it and found nothing. The silence threatened to kill her. She screamed again. That she could hear. She screamed for what she had lost and for all who had died. But most of all, she screamed for herself, for she was more alone than anyone living or dead._

_Case opened her eyes slowly to find herself alone on the bridge. She could not feel anything, numbed by the death that had ravaged her. And yet she had defeated the dark. Her mind snapped of its own accord to what the future would hold for her. She would submit herself to the Order. She knew the light was no longer within her grasp, though neither was the dark. She was lost in a world between worlds; trapped in the limbo of the Force. And she felt herself disappear into a void, never to resurface. And so she began to descend, pulling away from all life and death._

Searing synthetic light burst through Case's eyelids, waking her with a jolt from her dream. _More of a memory_, she thought dryly. That had been more than a decade ago. Case squinted at the bright light above her head, wondering why it had suddenly flipped on. She sighed and settled back into the sheets, determined to have every moment of peace she could. It was going to be a long twenty-four hours. And that dream didn't help start things off…

She could still feel the pain in the core of her heart from the deaths she had taken that day. Looking back, she had been so sure that what she was doing would be the best thing for the galaxy. Such was the power of Revan's persuasion. She made everyone around her feel like the work they did was of the utmost importance, from the high rank of general to the man left sweeping debris from the halls of a ship.

A thought brushed against Case's mind, whispering what-ifs in her ear. What if the plan they were about to embark on was yet another folly that Revan was orchestrating? Case had seen the way she won everyone over to her way of thinking during the battle briefings. Even Case had had no problem accepting Revan's plans. Perhaps this time she should think before acting, and yet she could see nothing wrong with what they were about to do. No foreboding feeling, no alarms going off in her head. And it made so much sense.

Logic told Case that all those things meant nothing; it had been the same that last time at Malachor. But something else told her that all was well with Revan; she was different, Case sensed. There was no longer that elusive dark shadow hovering underneath the surface. It was cloudy, but there was no menace behind Revan's exterior. She felt no fear of the woman, nor really any admiration. The latter was what convinced her that she was making the right choice; there was no manipulation taking place, just Revan being the brilliant tactician she was.

A soft knock sounded at Case's door. She quickly swung her legs out of the bed and threw on the fluffy green robe that had mysteriously appeared at her bedside.

"Come on in," she called.

The door swung slowly open, revealing a blank-faced Atton. Case fought a blush that threatened to overwhelm her.

"Yes?" she asked, pulling the robe tighter around her body.

"I just came to make sure you were up. Wouldn't want you to miss the festivities," Atton said lightly.

"Well, thanks. I just woke up," Case replied. She stood awkwardly, not sure how she should feel about their… close encounter last night.

"Hey, about—" Atton began.

The buzzing ring of Atton's datapad interrupted. Atton quickly closed his mouth and pulled the little machine out of his pocket. His eyes narrowed and he looked up at Case.

"It's Revan," he said, hitting the receive key.

"Good morning, Sunshine!" Revan's voice sang from the datapad.

"One too many shots last night, eh?" Atton said, cocking an eyebrow.

"No sir, no drinking on the job. Actually, I don't really drink off the job either," Revan said contemplatively, "But then I haven't _been_ off the job in years."

"Fascinating," Atton deadpanned. Then, after a moment of Revan thinking useless thoughts in silence, "What do you want?"

"It's time to get marching. This planet isn't going to conquer itself," Revan replied cheerily.

Atton glanced up at Case, conveying clearly that he thought their leader was out of her mind. Case was inclined to agree.

"Sure thing. I'll be there in a minute," Atton said.

"And find Case. I tried to get her through her datapad, but apparently she doesn't know how to rig it to receive a signal way out in this part of the universe," Revan said.

"Yeah, I'll tell her to get right on that."

"Don't bother. We both know what happens when she's near machinery." Revan made an exploding sound. Case frowned. Atton grinned.

"Okay, I'll get her and we'll meet you there."

"Alright, then. We'll all be in the super secret basement room of the mansion," Revan said, "See you in a few."

Atton ended the call and looked up at Case, still smiling.

"I'm not that bad with mechanical stuff," Case protested.

"You don't even have to touch it and things go wrong," Atton said.

"You're blowing this way out of proportion. That was one time."

Grunting in disbelief, Atton shook his head at her. "We should get going."

"Just let me get changed and I'll be right with you," she said, indicating her robe.

"Go ahead, don't mind me," Atton said, crossing his arms. A smirk touched the edges of his mouth.

Case scowled at him. "I meant you should get out of my room before I get violent."

"I could stay for that, I don't mind."

"Out," Case ordered, marching toward him.

With a laugh, Atton ducked out of the room and closed the door behind him. Case sighed and hurried to dress herself and wash her face. It was sad how good hygiene suffered for the sake of the universe; once upon a time in a galaxy far away, she had been able to keep her hair from looking like a bantha had chewed on it.

Five minutes later she was washed, dressed and ready to go. She exited the room, pack in tow. She found Atton flipping a pazaak card through his fingers as he leaned casually against a wall.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

"If only it really mattered if I was ready," Case said.

With a smile, Atton followed her out into the hallway.

XXXXX

Revan ended her call with Atton and smiled to herself. "I'll go get Case" her eye; those two were in the same room. Atton Rand wasn't as stealthy as he'd like to believe. It was curious that he didn't just say that they were together in the first place. Revan didn't dwell on it. Her mind kept reverting back to her conversation with Virote from the previous night. There were some sizable holes in their plan of attack that she had not paid much attention to (not everyone was used to the strategy of ignoring unfixable problems). Not really knowing anything about the planet sort of put a damper on any really brilliant schemes, but she was confident she had come up with an adequate one. Or at least one that wouldn't get everyone completely obliterated. That was always goal one.

"Revan."

She looked up to see Thayne striding toward her. "Yes?"

"Virote's got another issue with your plot," Thayne said, jerking his thumb over his shoulder.

"It's not a 'plot.' It's a plan of action."

"Well, he's got problems with the division stage of your action plan."

"The boy should knock back a couple and get some rest," Revan grumbled as she moved to follow Thayne.

Thayne gave her an odd look as they made their way to meet Virote. "What's got your skivvies in a twist?" he asked.

"Nothing."

"Irked that a lowly lord with no war experience is questioning your intellect?"

"No, he should be questioning every move I make. He's not paranoid enough, believe me. But this will change him," she said grimly.

Thayne waited for her to continue. Revan sighed.

"When you see enough war, you begin to realize that everything people build they lay to waste. They lie with the truth and inspire with lies. And even as we help this planet to heal, it begins to devour itself. Everything dies eventually, it's just a question of where and when," she said. Sadness tinged her voice. "And Virote's going to learn that sooner or later."

"Of course," Thayne said, undisturbed, "The tragedy isn't in the death; it's in what happened before then. At least, that's how it is with some people." He shrugged.

"Interesting. How did you develop that hypothesis?" Revan asked, clearly interested.

"Living," Thayne answered simply.

They had reached Virote, who stood tensely next to several of his advisors. All were talking urgently in hushed tones. Revan felt a stir of amusement; it was always fascinating to see the devotion of someone to a cause, no matter how small. The approximate consequence of Xent in the scope of all of time and space was minimal, and yet these people were willing to pay with their lives to save it. Although, she admitted to herself, her mission was much the same.

"You wanted to discuss something?" Revan asked.

"Yes, Jiji," Virote replied, reaching over to grab something off of a table.

Revan suppressed the inevitable giggle at the sound of her pseudonym; she had chosen it in a fit of humor during her last visit to Xent, no doubt as a result of the thicker atmosphere. Yes, she would blame it on that.

"I was reviewing your strategy…" Virote continued, pouring over a map.

"That's what it is!" Revan whispered to Thayne, "A _strategy_. Not a plot."

Thayne raised an eyebrow at her. It seemed imply an "I know you're crazy, but could you at least try to seem serious about this war?" query. The obvious answer was no, she couldn't.

"Hey, did we miss anything important?" a voice called out.

Revan glanced up to see Case and Atton arriving to join their last minute planning session. The more the merrier.

"No. Lord Virote wants to talk about some things," Revan said.

"Yes. Your plan to divide the troops and take the Twelve's palace from behind… I do not believe this is the best course of action. Would it not be better to keep our small numbers together? This would give us greater strength. To divide so small a number in such a way… I do not believe that is our best chance. A concentrated attack on a vulnerable point would do more damage."

Revan tried not to think about how glaringly obvious it was that Xent had forgotten war. In some ways that was better, in others it was like a ball and chain.

"In some situations I would say yes, that would be best," she began. She didn't say that if she, Case, Atton, and Thayne were allowed to handle it, sticking together was what they would do. Instead, she said, "However, in this circumstance we should try to keep surprise on our side. Without it we'll likely fail. We're not trying to do damage; we're trying to kill them."

Virote nodded, his face dark. "I see. I will… trust your judgment on this matter."

Revan wished he would question further. She hoped he would be the leader the planet needed, but if he didn't tear everything to shreds looking for the right way, there was nothing he could do to prolong the life of his planet.

A young man arrived at their powwow, out of breath and practically shaking, either with excitement or nerves Revan couldn't tell.

"Sir, we're ready to begin," he said.

"Good. Are you two prepared?" Virote asked, directing his question to Atton and Case.

"For anything," Case affirmed. Atton nodded in agreement, saying nothing.

"Please take care. I would not want harm to come to you," Virote said to Case, his voice softening.

"You too," Case answered, "You're the ones I worry about."

"You need not. We are ready to deal with whatever the Twelve send our way," Virote said.

Revan wished that was true. Still she felt the feeling of unease when she thought of the Twelve. Power surrounded them, and a black wind as thick and cold as ice flowed from them. Revan only hoped that everyone stuck to her plan and allowed her to be the one to confront them. Even Thayne wouldn't stand a chance, she suspected, if they were to meet all the Twelve. However, if all went well there would be only eleven to deal with and perhaps an insight into their minds.

"Well, let's all pray to our lucky stars that this goes according to plan," Revan said as a farewell. Case and Atton nodded and retreated to finish preparation.

XXXXX

Atton walked slowly behind the porter, very aware of Case's hand clasped in his own. They had been told not to release each other's hands until directed. Her palm was pressed against his, cool and small inside of his hot, larger hand. In some ways it was more intimate than the kiss they had shared so long ago. There was certainly more skin touching.

The three of them were making their way toward the wedding chamber. Virote and Revan had prepared them as to what they would experience. They would be escorted to the representing member of the Twelve, who would perform the ceremony. Then there was something neither had really understood about some sort of marker that would indicate them as husband and wife. They were to get the member of the Twelve before that.

At first Case had been adamant about not delving into anyone's head. Atton had heard them arguing and had been unable to walk away without knowing what was going on. Not that he had enough of a moral compass to resist eavesdropping. In his situation, it paid to know things.

_"If you don't do this, we won't be able to beat them," Revan had said._

_"I'm not tearing into someone's brain," Case had hissed back._

_"Then you'll let everyone die. Only you can do this."_

_"Don't make me do this," Case pleaded darkly._

_"This is your choice. If you won't do it, my plan falls apart. I'll go after the Twelve myself, if that's what it takes. If I have to, I'll lock everyone down here and finish it alone."_

_"You'll die, and then everyone else will be killed."_

_"There's more chance that way than with Virote and his men alone on the front. I can't beat the Twelve if I don't know more about them."_

_"What's inside their heads that so important?"_

_"The why, the how, and especially the what. They're not… anything I've seen before. They're stronger than me, so much stronger. But if I know what this is, I think I can get around imminent death. This war for Xent is more important than we suspect, I think."_

_Case hesitated, her eyes burning. "Fine. But you owe me for this."_

_"Almost anything you want I'll give you if you get what we need."_

After that, Case and Revan had acted as if nothing had gone on between them, but Atton could tell Case was still angry. He had been surprised when she had come to him and expressed her worry about Revan's wellbeing. And before he could really ask her about anything he had impulsively tried to kiss her again. Had that really only been yesterday? Once again he cursed the thicker atmosphere of the planet for his clouded judgment.

"Enter quickly. His magisterially superior highness has not much time for you _offworlders_," the porter said, spitting the last word as if it was a curse. Atton supposed it was. He glared right back at the porter, straightening to his full height over the porter's short frame.

The porter opened a heavy metal door. Atton and Case had to skip forward to avoid being hit in the back with the door as the porter closed it carelessly behind them. The room was small and empty, besides a small table and a serious-looking woman in long, shining gray robes. She beckoned them closer with a long, bony hand. Case glanced up at Atton, who gave her hand a squeeze and stepped forward.

"You are the intended?" she asked them.

"We're here to get married," Case answered.

"I see. We were expecting Lord Virote. Instead we get two offworlders being united on our planet. Do you realize what an odd occasion this is?"

Atton raised an eyebrow. Who cared?

"It has never been done before. Normally it is not allowed, but the Twelve wish for you both to depart as soon as possible. Neither of you hold peace as sacredly as it is held here. It is dangerous." She fixed them with a withering glare before curling her fingers toward them. "Casey Roanoke, extend your right hand. Atton Rand, extend your left hand."

They did as they were commanded, watching warily as the woman picked up from the table two wafer-thin loops of what looked like a hard, silver colored material. They were entirely flat and had a very subdued shine to them. Along the edge was a minute scroll of black lettering that Atton couldn't make out.

The woman took one loop in each hand and moved toward Atton and Case. She slid one onto Case's right thumb until it hit the knuckle, and then she did the same to Atton's left hand. The loop was cool and incredibly light. Atton peered closer at it. He jumped as it tightened around his finger. It was hugged so tight that any closer and it would have been part of his skin.

"Ah!" Case hissed, her hand jerking away from the woman.

Atton glanced quickly at her, looking for an injury. "What…? Ouch!" he yelped, pulling his own hand away. His thumb stung as he felt dozens of painful stabs underneath the loop. "What the hell is this?" he demanded.

"It is your mark," the woman said, looking at them as if they were idiots, "There are many…" she searched for the right word "needles imbedded through your skin and into your bone. They cannot be removed upon pain of death. If any are broken or withdrawn, a toxin is released into the bone marrow and blood stream. It will kill you. However, the needles are nearly impossible to destroy. Most likely you will be crushed to dust before they are harmed. However, once either of you is dead, they will both release their holds. Conveniently, they are also health monitors."

"They don't come off?" Case asked, the blood fleeing her face.

"Never. 'Till death do you part," the woman said with a twisted smile.

"What?" Atton snapped, glaring at the band on his thumb.

"Fine, let's get this over with," Case growled, looking anxious.

Forcing himself to focus, Atton tried not to think about the band. He could get over it; it was barely noticeable… well, mostly. It looked more like a slightly shiny tattoo than anything else.

"Do not worry about your skin. It will be healthy underneath the mark," the woman said comfortingly.

"Oh, well then, now that I know my finger will be taken care of…" Atton said.

"You are using sarcasm. I do not understand this, but it matters not. Proceed to the next chamber. His magisterially superior highness waits for you."

Atton, had he not been alarmed by the permanent jewelry attached to his person, would have laughed at the title given to the ruler. What a load of katarn dung. However, he was not in the mood to be light or humorous about anything.

Case tugged at his arm and pulled him after her toward the door in the far wall. The door swung open without their help as they approached it. Inside the room was dimly lit and lavishly decorated. There were tapestries, jewels in the walls, and elaborate carpets covering the floor. In the center of the room stood his magisterially superior highness; he was rigid as he frowned deeply at them.

"This is most irregular," the lawgiver said. His voice was gravelly and odd, almost like it was coming from someone else.

"They're your laws, not ours," Atton said snidely.

"I would advise you to hold your tongue," the lawgiver said, his voice colder than death.

Case nudged Atton, her look pleading. He grudgingly did as he was asked and shut up. He could just watch with glee when Case tore into the guy's head. Hypocritically enough, Atton had few issues with anyone else getting their mind invaded so long as he wasn't the one being violated. Part of him felt a stab of guilt, but the rest of him overruled the small bit that objected to taking away another being's privacy

"In such a case as this, things must be handled differently. Now I shall commence the verbal ceremony."

"Wonderful," Atton muttered.

"Atton Rand, your chosen is the woman Casey Roanoke. By accepting the mark of your union you have taken a sacred and unbreakable vow to be forever boun—"

The door behind them swung shut with a heavy _clunk_ and fastened tightly. Atton grinned; Case was ready to get things rolling.

"Sorry," Atton said, "but we've got some questions we need you to answer. Feel free to resist."

The lawgiver narrowed his eyes menacingly at the two of them. "This is a trap," he said without a trace of emotion.

"Yes," Case said, raising a hand toward him. The man was lifted into the air and slammed forcefully against the wall. He didn't utter a sound as he hit the hard concrete of the chamber. "Just relax and this will be over before you know it."

"I'll hold him," Atton offered, raising his own hand to push the man tighter against the wall with the Force.

"Thanks." Case moved nearer to the man, Atton close behind her. She focused on the lawgiver, her brow furrowing in concentration. After a moment, she looked up, frustration coloring her cheeks. "I can't get in," she said.

"Is that even possible?" Atton asked, "I thought Jedi could burrow into anyone's brain."

"Apparently not. Sometimes it helps if I make physical contact. Let's see…" Case said, laying a hand gently on the man's forehead. She closed her eyes.

A sudden jolt wracked her body and her face contorted with pain. Case gave a yell and jerked away, falling back onto the ground.

Atton gave a shove through the Force, pinning the man harder against the wall and rushed to Case's side, feeling panic hit him when she didn't wake at his urges. He shook her harder and called her name. No response.

"Case, come on," he growled, scooping her into his arms. He carried her over to a decorative couch and laid her down, carefully resting her head against the arm. He quickly searched her over through the Force, looking for any injuries. Other than some bruises and minor head trauma, she was fine. He dealt with her sores and watched anxiously for any sign that she was coming to. Finally her eyelids twitched and a low moan escaped her mouth. Her eyes snapped open and she sucked in a breath, her eyes fluttering wildly around her.

"Atton," she said, her voice hoarse.

"Yeah, I'm here," he said, grabbing her hand with his, the hand she had touched the lawgiver with. It was hot.

"We're not going to win this. We can't."

"What do you mean," he asked, feeling cold slither into his belly.

"It's _them_," Case croaked, struggling to sit up.

Atton helped her get to her feet, holding her carefully around the waist. The last thing he needed was for her to split her skull because she was dizzy. That would be difficult to explain to the others.

"Who's 'them'?" Atton said.

"We have to tell Revan. We have to tell her before it's too late. This isn't going to work," Case babbled.

"Whoa, breathe. What do we do with him?" Atton asked, jerking his head toward the man pinned on the wall.

"Kill him," Case said.

"_What?_" Atton looked at her in shock. Surely he had gone insane. Case ordering the death of someone…

"If we don't kill him, he'll destroy it all. He's not alive, Atton, not really."

"Case, look…"

Just do it! Or I will," she threatened.

"You're not thinking clearly. Normally I'm all for dispatching psychos, but we need to stick to the pla…" Atton attempted to reason. Case cut him off.

"Don't you get it? They're the cause of all this! If we don't kill them all then this whole thing's over."

Case pulled out of Atton's grasp and swung her hand toward the Twelve member. Her fingers closed cruelly in the air. The man made a choking noise and grasped desperately at his throat, his eyes wide and his face turning red as he suffocated.

"Case, cut it out!" Atton ordered, releasing his grip on the lawgiver. He fell to the ground, still clawing at his constricted windpipe. Case didn't relinquish her hold. Anger, hate, and fear rolled off of Case in waves, crashing into Atton like a ship onto a rocky shore. He stared for a moment, shocked.

"Case, let him go. He isn't worth what it'll do to you," he said.

"Yes, it is. Nothing matters if they don't die," she hissed.

"Don't. Hey, look at me! Let him go. Virote will deal with him when this is over," Atton reasoned, "And we still need him."

"No, he can't. This is beyond Virote. This is beyond even Revan."

"Don't make me stop you," Atton pleaded, his fists tightening.

"Stay back. You don't know what you're dealing with, Atton," Case spat.

Atton didn't waste more words; whatever had happened, Case wasn't in her right mind. He fell into a sturdy stance and pulled at the ceiling. A panel came loose and flew toward Case's head. She flicked her other hand and sent it harmlessly to the side, her eyes never leaving the face of the lawgiver. Atton whipped the couch toward her, waiting for the moment. When Case shifted attention to the flying couch, Atton quickly stepped forward and slammed a huge amount of energy toward her. Case quickly tried to protect herself, but another onslaught from Atton sent her flying to the side. Too much of her attention had been on the lawgiver.

With a brief yell, Case sailed back into a chair that cracked and collapsed under the force of her landing. She crumpled to the floor, clutching her head. Atton didn't approach her, aware of just how much damage she could do when she wanted to. Instead he called her name, trying to discern her state of mind.

"Atton," she groaned, "Something's not right. I think… he may have gotten in my head. If I make any sudden moves, incapacitate me."

Atton nodded, glancing over at the lawgiver. He was beginning to recover and had even resumed smiling condescendingly at them. After how he had been so close to dying, Atton would have thought he would hold off on the obnoxious facial expressions until he was out of danger. Apparently not.

"Don't move or I'll kill you myself," Atton threatened, moving closer to the lawgiver. They needed the guy as a hostage, though part of Atton felt safer with him dead. Trying to ignore the side of him that reasonably suggested letting the guy attack him and _then_ killing him out of self-defense, Atton searched around for something to bind him with, and quick. Case needed to get to Revan.

XXXXX

Revan sighed, leaning back against the cold wall. She hated the waiting just before the decisive battle. She glanced over at Thayne, who appeared calm and collected. How irritating. She had little patience left after dealing with one of Virote's advisors immediately after Case and Atton had left. He had pounced, demanding to know why he, Virote, and the others could not be the ones to confront the Twelve.

"It is our war," he had pointed out.

"And you can't fight it alone. If you want to face them, you'll die," Revan had answered.

Eventually they had seen the reason behind her arguments.

The first attack had gone remarkably well; Revan had been able to guide all the troops through the outer defenses of the castle and into the control rooms. From there they had been able to sabotage much of their security system. There was still a lot to do, but Revan had more confidence now than she had a few hours ago. She was still tired from working with all the troops at once, almost wishing she had let Case take her job. The girl did have the ability to use Battle Meditation after all. But it was her wedding, Revan thought with a chuckle.

At the moment everyone was resting uneasily, waiting for Case and Atton to complete their part of the mission. It had to be soon or their surprise would be blown. Revan glanced worriedly at the time. They were hunkered down in a control room for the time being. Hopefully the happy couple was on their way with what Revan needed before she faced the Twelve. Or, fortuitously, only eleven.

Thayne shifted against the wall, letting out a slow breath. He massaged his neck with his hands, his eyes staring unfocused toward the ground.

"And now we wait," Thayne said.

An idea struck Revan several minutes later. Curiosity pricked at her mind. "Tell me more about your family," Revan said, resting her arms on her knees.

Thayne chuckled. "What do you want to know?"

"What happened to your family?" Revan asked.

Running a calloused hand across his forehead, Thayne smiled sadly. "It fell apart."

"How?"

"You want to know this?"

"Please."

"…I suppose it started even before I got there. Celya, my wife, gave up her daughter when the girl was two years old. She never told me much about it until after our kid was born."

"I thought you said she had a ten year old when you married her," Revan said.

"She did, the kid just didn't live with her. But she talked about her all the time. Just not what had happened to her."

"So… what happened?" Aware and uncaring that she was prying, Revan kept questioning.

"People tell others the craziest things when they think they might die, you know?" Thayne said, "I've never talked about this. But… because I might not make it, I figure someone should know. Especially for…"

Revan waited.

"Celya gave birth to our daughter, Ziven, about a year after we were married. Ten years later Celya's daughter came back. She wouldn't say anything about where she'd been, but… she was different than most. I can't tell you how exactly, but," Thayne glanced at Revan, "she reminds me of you in ways."

"Thank you, I think. What happened?"

"She stayed for a year and spent time with Ziven. They got close… and then she left without a word. Ziven never really got over it. Five years after that Celya was killed in the cantina where she worked. A man shot her when she refused to hand over one of the young girls who worked there. I don't know if he was a lover or a family member that the kid was running from. They guy was crazy and angry. Seven people died that night. Ziven ran away the day after. She was so angry… I haven't been able to find her since."

Revan contemplated putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. She decided against it. "I'm sorry," she said instead.

"Some people have the solace of knowing if they'd done something different, just maybe things would be better. I don't. It didn't matter what I did or didn't do, it would have ended that way. There was never anything to be done." Thayne looked up at Revan, a fiery determination in his eye. "Can you promise me something? If I don't make it, there's something I need you to do."

Just as Revan was about to reply, Virote appeared next to them, out of breath and looking frazzled. "What?" she asked quickly.

"Atton and Casey, they're here with one of the Twelve," Virote said, his eyes dark.

"What? Why? Is everything alright?" Revan demanded, flying to her feet. Thayne was right next to her.

"I don't know. Casey… I don't know. They want to see you." Virote shook his head.

Revan didn't wait any longer. Though she couldn't feel Casey through the Force (as always), but she could sense Atton. He was worried, which in her knowledge was a rare thing. Something was very wrong. Even before the war started things were falling apart. Damn those lucky stars of hers.

When she, Thayne, and Virote reached Case and Atton, Case looked as though she was about to pass out. Her skin was chalk-white and her eyes were shot through with blood. Revan sucked in a breath at the sight of her.

"What the hell happened?" Revan demanded.

"T-they… he got… I don't know," Case said, teeth chattering, "So cold…"

Revan rushed to her and laid a hand against her skin. "You feel fine." She peered into her eyes, holding the heavy lids open. "Did you touch him?" Revan asked, peering over at the seething hostage.

"Yeah, I had t-t-to," Case said, "To get ins-s-side his h-head." She shivered violently under Revan's touch.

"What the frak's wrong with her?" Atton asked, his face heavy with suppressed worry.

Rising, Revan turned her steely gaze on the prisoner. "Let's ask him," she said, her tone sharper than a vibroblade. She stepped over to him, grabbed him by the collar of his robe and yanked him to her eyelevel. His arms were crossed over his front and tied to his sides, the bindings knotted behind his back.

Thayne wondered briefly if Revan would kill him; if looks were blaster shots, the guy would be stone cold dead.

"What are you called?" Revan asked sharply.

"Shol," he answered after a moment's hesitation.

"What did you do to her, Shol?"

"Nothing she didn't want me to." He laughed. "She knows what you do not. She knows what we are, and yet she can do nothing with that knowledge. She doesn't understand. It is good you did not do this yourself. That would have undone us."

"Get out of her mind," Revan hissed, tightening her hold.

"A single grain of sand can tip a scale. This is that grain. She has turned a corner, Revan."

Revan started, shock widening her eyes. "What did you call me?"

"Your name. It is who you always were, no matter what you forgot. What an honor, your coming here to defeat us."

"Who are you?" Revan demanded.

"The same as all the rest, of course. _They_ put us in charge on Xent. We carry out their will. I wonder: are you angry that you were forgotten?" he asked, a smirk lifting the edges of his thin mouth.

"What garbage are you spewing?" Revan growled.

"Did you not wonder why it was only you? Why no one else came? Why you were the only one to truly understand? They called the rest of us who were strong enough to come. I cannot believe you were forgotten." His tone almost crossed from snide to amazement.

"Alright then. Why doesn't anyone come? Why is it just me?" Revan said, her voice tipped with sarcasm.

"Poor little one. Why do you think?"

Revan gritted her teeth. She knew. "There was nobody left to come."

"You were not even supposed to find out about this chain of command. And yet you surpassed all our expectations. We thought all the Jedi were naively clinging to ancient lies. And yet you swept it all aside in a matter of moments. You cut straight to our heart. And do you know why?"

"Tell me what you did to Case," Revan said, teeth gritted, "Or shut up."

Shol's eyes drifted to Atton and then to Thayne, resting on him for a moment before returning to Revan. "You do not want them to know what you fear. Wise. But even we know that the truth eventually comes to light. The trick is simple: the truth must come when all no longer care. Then it is no more important than the lie. But even when the truth came late for you, you accepted it." Shol smirked. "You're a funny freak, you know that?"

"I swear I'll kill you if you don't answer me. What did you do?"

Chuckling softly, Shol grinned as he answered in a whisper, "I let her in my mind, just as you wanted."

His words stabbed Revan. "Then let her out," she said.

"Oh, that's up to her. But she was always like you, wasn't she; curious. It's a dangerous thing, curiosity. Now that she has seen, she won't let it go. She wanted to kill me, you know."

"So do I," Revan snarled.

"But that is who you are. She was not that way. That one," he nodded toward Atton, "was shocked to see her in such a state. But you… even now they wonder if you will end my life."

Revan forced her gaze away from Shol. "Case," she snapped, "Get out."

"I don't know if-f I c-can. I'm so tired…" Case said, her shoulders sagging wearily.

"Take this piece of bantha dung," Revan said, shoving Shol at Thayne, who caught him and held him securely. Revan strode over to Case and knelt down in front of where she sat.

"I can see things… they're so black. Everything's dead, but it won't rest. It's so cold here," Case whispered, hugging herself tightly.

"Yeah, I know," Revan said softly, putting her hands on Case's arms, "But you have to believe me. It's not worth what you'll find out. You'll be gone. You're better than that."

Case locked eyes with Revan, bloody matching emerald green. "You've seen it. You know," she said, her voice dry and cold, "And you understand it. How could you understand? I don't. I should. I-it's all here. All of it."

Shol laughed. "She was to be stronger than you. She _is_ stronger, and yet you surpass all before you and after you. How does it feel to be the only one of your kind? You are the first, and with your death your kind shall die. Her… she is the strongest of her kind. And there will be more, but none with such power." His eyes trained greedily on Case. "She is ours because you wouldn't be."

"No! Leave her out of this," Revan said. She turned back to Case. "Listen to me, Case; you've got to let go of him."

"Revan," Case rasped, shuddering, "I've paid for your mistakes. I'm done."

"GET OUT!" Revan screamed. She flew at Shol, her fist connecting to his jaw with a crack. His head snapped around, bending sickeningly to the side.

With a low laugh, he straightened his neck and righted his head, grinning all the while.

"Case, look at me. _Look at me!_" Revan yelled, back at Case's side.

Case lifted her eyes, hatred shining through. Nowhere could Case be seen behind them.

Revan's lips pulled back from her teeth in a snarl. "You won't go, then? Fine. You'll pay for what you've done."

Placing one hand on Case's forehead and another behind her neck, Revan closed her eyes and bent her head. She breathed out slowly, breathed in even slower. Then she stopped breathing.

Shol's face shifted in an instant from cruel triumph to bloodless fear. "What are you doing? Get away from her," he hissed.

Still as stone, Revan held tight to Case as she began to twitch under her hands.

"Have you built it all just to throw it away? You belong to us, Revan, and nothing you do can change that." Shol's eyes blazed with hatred toward the dark-haired Jedi.

Revan's voice emerged from her nearly closed lips. "I've taken my beating from you, and I've passed. Get the hell out of her head or you'll be trapped in mine."

Fear blossomed across Shol's face.

"And that," Revan continued, "Is not a safe place to be."

A weak chuckle escaped Shol. "I'm beginning to see I've been deceived. You are not what we thought. This cannot continue. You know that."

"I know you're through. You're on borrowed time. You're going to be erased."

Shol laughed though his skin was still pale as ice with fright. "Is that what you believe? Perhaps you are not all you could be. You think you can finish us? Try."

"Like this?" Revan murmured, her eyes still closed.

Shol let out a scream as he went rigid in Thayne's arms. He crumpled; his chest was still and his eyes blank. Thayne let him drop to the floor.

Case screamed. She thrashed in Revan's grip, unable to break free. Her pitch rose and her eyes flashed. "_Get away from me!_"

Revan's lids snapped open as she was thrown back with force. Case sat breathing heavily, her head rolling forward, pale hands limp on her lap.

Revan scrambled to her feet and walked slowly toward Case. She softly called her name, reaching a hand out to the Jedi. Case slowly raised her head. Her hair lay haphazardly across her face. With a sigh of relief, Revan saw Case's clear eyes and colored cheeks.

"That…was…informative," Case panted, not a hint of humor in her voice.

"_What?_" Atton choked.

Case ignored him, her eyes locked on Revan. "They can be driven off. Good to know."

"Case, I'm sorry. I didn't know… I certainly didn't think they would be…" Revan struggled to speak.

"Forget it. That's not the first time you sent me to death's door. I'm sure it won't be the last."

Revan felt the sting of her words. They struck home, filling her with pain. "No, it won't be. But that's your choice. You know what I am, now."

Case slowly rose to her feet, teetering unsteadily. Her shoulders hunched forward as she struggled to breathe normally. The toll of having a monster in one's head is high."I have no idea what you are," Case said, "And neither do you, I'd guess. But you can stop them. That's all I need to know. Just believe me when I say that at the end, if you're not dead or have dropped all this, I'll kill you."

"And I'll fight you."

"I know. You'll lose."

To everyone's surprise, a smile spread over Revan's mouth. "Yes, I will. You're stronger. But you can't beat me, not yet." Turning to Virote, Revan said, "It's time. I've got what I need. Get the troops in formation; we're going to storm a castle."

A stunned silence followed Revan's command. A moment later Virote turned and left without a word or a nod. He was going to do what he believed was best for his planet.

"I don't suppose there's a way you'll shut up about what you learned," Revan said thoughtfully to Case.

"It's all going to come out. We're all fighting this. He was wrong, you know. There are more of us who will come."

Revan stood still for a moment. Then, "The levees are breaking down. You're right, it'll all come out. What I fear is a flood."

Smiling a crooked smile, Case replied, "I can swim."

Once again, Revan cursed her lucky stars; the jig was up. Why did she get the defective charms? She glanced at Atton and Thayne, who were surreptitiously watching her. It was time for them to know what she knew. After the battle, all would be revealed. Or what little she knew of "all."

* * *

Thanks for going through that chapter. Hopefully it isn't too murky. Don't worry, I'll spell everything out later. I think _I_ need to figure out exactly what's going on, too.

Thank you once again to all my reviewers. This would all be naught but for you! I mean nothing. This would be nothing without you guys. So thanks.

Can't wait to hear from you all later! I'll update as soon as I can. I'm thinking about making a resolution to not post early in the morning or late at night; I overlook really important stuff. Oh well. I'll start my resolution tomorrow. :)

**1x1pEngUIn89 **-- Ah ha! I see clearly now! I love that line too. :) I mean, penguins! How much better can it get? It can't!

**qt3.14159** -- Thanks for the complements. :) And thanks for the news! I've been dying trying to figure anything out. I wish they'd just put us out of our misery and tell us if there's going to be a sequel! Oh, I've been meaning to ask what your name means, too. Can't figure that one out either. As you may have guessed, I'm not a puzzle person. The last person you want on your team for a game show or something is me.

**Jax Solo** -- Really?! Wow! That makes me so happy! It's great to hear from you, by the way. I like hearing from readers, especially when they bring such happy, happy news! Now all I have to do is fret about who they stuck with the job of plot and character development. It could be painful, and yet... Thanks for the hope! Oh, and yes, Revan isn't that great at explaining stuff. You're right, it's just her. :)

**Crystal Cat X **-- We're in the same boat with the no news thing. Thanks! I didn't really remember any chair thing, but then I tend to forget a lot of the stuff I've written. Wacky, huh? I remember other people's stuff better. You read it three times. Wow, that's great! I'm glad you liked the chapter**.**

**6tailedninja **-- Good to hear from a new reviewer! That'll make my day. Happy you like my story, 6tailednija! I'm not sure if I understand the Scooby Doo thing, but then I really don't know anything about him. Your welcome (for the story). I hope you read more.

**Shenene392 **-- I like your enthusiasm, Shenene! Glad you're still reading and reviewing. :)

**The Outlander** -- Once again, thanks for the great review. Yikes, I'm nervous about disappointing people! I'm glad you like the story so far, though. I think I've got a pretty clear idea of where I'm going, but things are pretty shifty in my head. I showed the emotional side of Revan? Hmm... I wish I'd notice when I did that kind of stuff. Sheesh. Happy you like my portrayal of her, though. I did a cliffhanger thingy? Cool. By the by, why is your name "The Outlander"? I'm so curious about everyone's names! Everyone has such interesting ones. Glad your vacation was fun!

**DanceOfWords **-- In keeping with my continuous theme, what does your name mean? I mean, I can guess, but it's so pretty. I think it'd be interesting to know about it. Wow! Congratulations to your aunt! My cousin is actually due any day now. I'm glad I can entertain you with my story. I try. :)


	12. Blackest of Rooms

So sorry it took so long. Things are hectic on my end. It's been forever since I updated, I know. Actually, I shouldn't even be working on Unbreakable right now, since I have three tests this week and a huge paper to prepare for. But that's mostly because of my very serious condition…

Procrastination is a serious illness that I'm dealing with right now. The doctors don't know if I'll make it through… I've joined an anonymous club to seek help for my problem among those like me. The PAC (Procrastinators Anonymous Club) is a good place for me right now. It's sad to see so many suffering from a preventable disease! We're throwing a fundraiser to pay for research for a cure, but there's not a lot of hope right now. So far I've beat the odds, but this is a tricky condition. If you suffer too, you're not alone!

Okay, enough of my ranting and on with the story! Oh, and thanks so much for sticking with me! Your patience is admirable.

* * *

Chapter Twelve – Blackest of Rooms

"Well, I can think of two ways out of this," Revan said, holding her blaster close to her chest as she peered around the corner. Twenty or so trigger-happy soldiers were standing guard, waiting for any sign of trouble to begin shooting.

"And those plans would be…?" Thayne asked, edging closer to her to take a look.

"Something ridiculously dangerous and or stupid," Case muttered, slipping her lightsaber out of its holster. Then with a smile, "I like it."

"Does Revan _have_ any other kind of plan?" Atton asked, his voice leaking sarcasm.

"They're _strategies_, thank you very much," Revan sniffed, mock offended.

"Yeah, well, your last few made me want to weep… and then die," Atton said.

"Let's not get snarky," Case said.

"Just shut up, everyone. So help me, if we don't finish this I'll shoot you all myself," Thayne hissed at them all.

"The irritated man is right. What's the plan?" Case whispered.

Revan hesitated, scowling. "Well, in situations like this I'd normally go in swinging and just crush them all, but…" She glanced back at the rows of troops waiting for orders. "They can't do that, can they? This would be _so_ much easier…" she muttered to herself, lowering her voice until it was nothing more than a grumble.

"Okay, their visors make them partially blind in all areas but a small strip straight from left to right. And I doubt they can see more than a few meters in front of them. Stupid of the Twelve to have such dark visors on their minions," Atton said.

"Point, Atton," Case said, making a hurry motion with her hand.

"The point is that if we're really careful, we can pick them off. Like old times," Atton finished, smiling at Case. "If it comes to a fight watch out that you aren't even nicked by their blasts. They've got enough electricity in their blasts to floor a bantha."

"How do you know that?" Case asked.

Atton rolled his eyes. "Haven't you seen their weapons? Look," he pointed to them, "On the side of the barrel, there. Obviously it can—"

"Or we could overload that console," Revan interrupted quietly, pointing subtly to the shiny computer on the wall. Previously it had been hidden by a row of soldiers, but a shift change revealed the blessing-wrapped-in-metal.

"Yes," Case said excitedly. That would make things so much easier. And explosions of electricity were always entertaining.

"We'll have to be really, _really_ careful if we want to detonate it," Thayne said, "And the troops will have to stay back." He glanced at the three Jedi. "Anyone ridiculously talented with stealth shields? We have to get close enough to tamper with it."

Atton gave a crooked smirk. "No problem. These jokers won't know what happened to them."

"Just don't blow it," Revan warned. She paused. "No pun intended."

"And have them all over us like flies on bantha poodoo? No thanks," Atton said with a grimace.

"Thanks for that mental image," Case muttered.

"Careful; the technology here is more difficult sometimes," Revan cautioned Atton, "Do you have security tunnelers?"

He raised his eyebrows as if to say, _You're kidding, right?_ "What self-respecting scoundrel doesn't? It'll only take a minute or two," he said confidently.

"Set the timer for long enough. New trustworthy pilots are hard to get a hold of," Case said.

"Your concern moves me," Atton drawled.

"I'm just saying," Case said.

Shaking his head at her, Atton looked back at the soldiers and then to Case. "Be ready. Get the troops all fired up or whatever you war generals do," Atton said flippantly, "Give 'em a pep talk or something."

Case opened her mouth to retort, but Atton had already hit the stealth field generator's on-switch. He flickered out of sight. The last thing she had seen of him was his teasing grin.

Focusing her eyes on the slight displacement of air, Revan watched carefully as Atton crossed over to the soldiers, totally aware that if he was discovered, they would shoot first and ask questions later. Though the Twelve weren't expecting them, the soldiers were constantly on their guard. Apparently good help wasn't hard to find on Xent.

When it was clear that Atton was well on his way to overloading the console, Revan glanced back at Case. The woman had revived miraculously fast from her ordeal with the Twelve. But she'd always been good at healing. Revan could still hear the echoes of Shol in her mind, but that was nothing to worry about… hopefully.

Case was still too pale, a bit clammy, and there were huge purple smudges under her eyes that made her look haggard, but she was overall stable. Strangely, her appearance made her look years younger, almost like an ill-taken-care-of child. Revan resolved to keep an eye on her; Sith were nasty creatures even after they were out of one's head. Case wouldn't be completely stable again for quite a while.

As Revan was watching her, Case lifted her right hand to brush the hair away from her face. Revan froze when she saw it; the tiny, menacing band on Case's thumb. What was _that_ doing there? Her stomach dropped into her feet as a realization hit her. Oh, _no_.

"Case…what is that?" Revan asked, her voice almost betraying her nervousness.

"What?" Case asked, tearing her eyes away from the quiver that was Atton.

"The band."

"Um," Case glanced at her thumb, "It's… a _band_. I can see how that might have been confusing."

"You were supposed to capture Shol before the ring part."

"They did it first," Case said with a shrug. "Who cares? I mean, it doesn't come off, but I can deal with it."

Revan raised her eyebrows. "You should care a lot."

"Why?" Case asked.

"You're Mrs. Atton Rand, that's why."

"W-what do you mean?" she murmured.

"I mean you're married to the idiot trying to overload the console," Revan said, knowing her stab at a joke wouldn't lighten the mood.

"No, no, no, Revan, no. We didn't go through the ceremony. That's the part that counts. The woman put the rings on and we got maybe a sentence through the wedding. I'm not married," Case said quickly.

"Normally, yes, that would be true. But here the rings _are_ the wedding. The rest is superfluous fluff around those," Revan said, pointing to the silver band on Case's finger.

If there was any blood left in Case's face, it drained toward her toes. "Oh, Force," she cursed, "No, no, no, no, no. Please no." She looked up at where Atton was, clearly sick.

Thayne whistled quietly. "That's rough."

"That's one way to put it," Revan said.

"There's always annulment," Thayne said comfortingly.

"Uh, no. There isn't," Revan said, uncomfortable.

"Why not?" Case demanded. She seemed to be verging on hysteria. She was twisting her hands and shaking. That combined with her pallid appearance made a sickly picture.

Revan winced at the desperation creeping into Case's voice. She hated seeing her without much control, but that just wasn't going to vanish after Shol's attack. "Divorce from a Xent marriage means removing the rings. The damn things are nearly indestructible."

Trembling, Case leaned against the wall and swiped a hand across her forehead; the hand with the ring. She brought it in front of her eyes and stared wide-eyed at the little nuisance. Her mouth opened, closed, opened again. "Crap."

XXXXX

Atton cursed mentally when yet another of the console's systems broke down. They were so damn delicate! Built so that the slightest misstep would render it useless until someone came to fix it. He wondered how the planet functioned with that kind of pressure; be perfect or everything breaks. Sure, the security advantages were high, but the power of the average Joe was equally as strong. And Joe broke things.

He couldn't help but think about the easier option, which was blasting the thing into oblivion. That would get it to explode properly. However, there was not guarantee that he would live through the blast. And if he did, the injuries could take him out of the battle. He didn't want to leave Case and the others with no help. As debonair as Virote was, the man couldn't handle a weapon like a Rand. But then, who could?

Carefully analyzing the figures on the dull screen, Atton hit what he hoped were the correct keys. At one point the band on his left hand clinked against the metal of the console; he had held still, waiting with bated breath for someone to notice. No one did. He wondered if the helmets inhibited hearing as well as vision. That would be nice.

He hit the last key. The screen flickered black before red digits appeared in the upper right corner. He had three minutes to get away from the thing before it blew like a Hutt after a heavy meal.

When Atton returned to the group, he felt a subtle vibe that let him know things were not all well. He quickly switched off his shield and peered around. Thayne was shaking his head and Revan was squinting at Case. Case was pale as ever and trembling to boot. He focused on her. Let the others deal with whatever it was.

"Case," he said, moving toward her, "Are you—"

"Did it work?" Revan butted in.

"Yeah, it's fine," Atton said impatiently, "What happened to Ca—"

"You realize how badly this could go," Thayne said pointedly to Revan.

"Ah. You mean we have no idea how strong the blast is. Yes, very badly, I'd guess," Revan said. Then with a twitch of a smile, "Take cover. The troops have."

Glancing behind them, Atton saw that Virote's men had indeed disappeared. By his reckoning, fewer than twenty seconds remained on the timer.

With a muttered curse, he strode over to the still-shuddering Case and drew her against him and down with him as he crouched against the wall. Angling her away from the blast, he tucked her head under his chin and put one hand protectively over the back of her head while the other held her against his chest. She didn't fight him, but she stiffened in his hold. Atton felt Revan and Thayne duck next to them.

Seconds later the console exploded. Atton's bones rattled inside of him as the whole compound shuddered from the blast. Light, sound, and scrap metal erupted in the room, tearing down anything softer than steel. The soldiers didn't even have time to scream.

As suddenly as it had begun, it was over. Atton cautiously raised his head to look around. Bodies were strewn about the room in painful positions; legs over heads, arms twisted hideously behind backs, and worse.

Slowly releasing his hold on Case, he gave her a quick once over to assess any possible damage. She seemed uninjured, and she wasn't shaking anymore, but her face was still set with anxiety.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked, keeping the worry out of his voice.

Case nodded and pushed him away. Atton backed up and stood, holding a hand out to her. She took it without looking at him.

Atton worried about the effect of that schutta inside her head, knowing what that kind of thing could do to a person. He shuddered at the thought of someone lodged in one's mind. In effect, he had done the same to his prisoners during the wars. He'd seen the torture, the burning pain that could be inflicted by getting – even figuratively – inside someone's mind to hurt them.

Redirecting his thoughts to more present things, Atton glanced around them with a scowl. If they hadn't ducked behind the wall in time… He glanced at their cover. His mouth dropped open.

Large shards of wall, floor, and metal were stuck in the areas that would have been just above their heads and around their bodies. They could have died from that; they _should_ have.

Atton whirled around to confront Revan only to find her busily rummaging through the remains of the soldiers. She pocketed a vibroshiv and moved onto another man.

"Are you insane?" Atton said.

"It's likely," Revan answered absently as she looted the bodies.

Atton narrowed his eyes at her. "You used to be a genius at these things. You could communicate better than anyone I'd ever met. And your plans were flawless. What the hell happened to you?"

And as he thought about it, he knew he was right. Her plans, though brilliant, were not the same flawless, flowing actions as they had been. She explained things halfway and then dropped them, and she was entirely willing to deviate from their strategy when the mood struck her, but not when someone else changed plans.

Revan straightened, frowning at Atton. "So I'm a little crazy. What's your point?"

"That," Atton snarled, waving a hand at the carnage from the blast. "And that!" The bits of wall and floor that had imbedded themselves in the wall just above where they had taken cover. Revan glanced at it, seemingly unconcerned.

"You didn't warn us," Atton growled, "You barely gave us enough time to duck."

"I suppose having my brain whitewashed by the Jedi could have had an effect on me, but I doubt it," Revan speculated. "Besides, the base for the console charge wasn't strong enough to do real damage this far away."

"Oh, right, I can see that now," Atton said. A chunk of the ceiling dropped at that moment, almost as if to emphasize his sarcasm.

"You think those things missed us accidentally?" Revan waved her hand at the blades of metal that would have killed everyone. "Please. I'm not that helpless."

Case's voice broke through the argument. "You stopped _all_ of those?" She studied the millions of large, medium, and tiny shards. The whole room looked like it had been scraped with needles.

Revan nodded and continued her hunt for interesting loot. "Well, deflected them at least," she conceded.

"That's a lot to concentrate on," Case commented. Then, with a grumble, "If I'd been _healthy_…"

"Can we focus?" Thayne said, stepping into their midst, brushing dust out of his hair from the blast. Atton guessed he looked just as disheveled as the rest of them. "This blast will have attracted someone's notice. We _need_ to get to the throne room. Or have you all forgotten we're in the middle of a war?" His voice was dry and sardonic.

"Get the troops," Revan said, "We're almost to the turbolift." Thayne nodded and took off.

Revan's comm crackled and came to life. Virote's voice came over it sounding strained.

"Revan, an explosion registered on the palaces alarm system. Is everything okay?" Virote asked.

Revan winced at the sound of her name. Virote hadn't said much after finding out who she was, but he had become visibly cautious toward her. Not that she blamed him. Although apparently he still didn't doubt her ability to help them win.

"We're fine. Just had a little problem. Are you in position?" Revan responded.

"Ready. Signal when you're prepared on the south side. We've got the north covered."

"Good. We're about to enter the turbolift." Revan glanced up to see Virote's men already lined up and ready to go.

"Right. Out." Virote's voice disappeared and Revan tucked her comm away, motioning for the troops to follow her.

Atton could see the lines of worry on Revan's face. She had argued adamantly against using a turbolift to transport all her men at the same time, saying it was a logistical nightmare and an easy trap to boot. However, as Virote pointed out, there was no other way to the throne room floor. Literally, it was impossible to reach it by any other means. It had been designed that way to ward off any such attacks. The advantage for them, though, was that once they secured the turbolift, no one could leave and the Twelve would be trapped. That was if everything went according to plan.

There was no trouble the rest of the way to the turbolift, and the military-sized lift was well equipped for transporting half the soldiers at once. In no time they were all lined up and ready, charging across the palace to meet Virote. As they passed quickly from room to room, Atton felt a sense of dread growing in the pit of his stomach. He could almost smell the bitter and sickly sweet odor of death assaulting him. It smelled of blood, tears, and pain.

But a retreat was not possible. The troops filed into the military turbolift as quietly as armed men in combat boots could. When the doors closed, an eerie silence commenced, broken only but the faint hum of machinery and the quite breathing of the people riding the lift. The second before the door opened, Atton was nearly knocked off his feet by a wave of darkness attacking him through the Force. He glanced over at Case, who was staring wide-eyed back at him.

"Not good," she murmured.

Beep!

The bell warned of the door's opening. It slid back. Unexpected darkness was revealed on the other side of the door. No lights were on anywhere, not even a flicker. Just inky blackness stretching on into infinity.

"What the hell?" Thayne muttered. Atton thought the sentiment was shared by everyone in the lift.

The soldiers shuffled nervously, glancing surreptitiously at Revan to see what her reaction was to the situation. Her face was calm and smooth as she surveyed the void outside of the turbolift. Her features gave away nothing she was thinking, but her lack of panic or surprise seemed to reassure her men.

"Atton, jam the lift," Revan ordered. Her words didn't echo; they were muffled by the stiff air that had flowed in through the doors.

Wordlessly, Atton did as he was told, jimmying the control panel and disconnecting some wires. "If you want to use it now, you've got to connect these three wires," he said, letting the wires drop from his fingers.

"You've just cut off our retreat," Thayne murmured to Revan, low enough that the troops couldn't hear and that Atton could.

"No, I've just cut _them_ off," Revan said, gesturing subtly at the darkness beyond the lift, "This is the only way out, only we know how to work it, and they already shut down the internal power of the turbolift. Didn't they?" Her question was directed at Atton.

He nodded slightly. Someone had shorted the power to the control pad. His wires bypassed that. Unease gnawed at his mind. He shifted so that his back wasn't facing the empty doorway; he had the same feeling as he'd had when he, Case, and the witch had hijacked that Republic ship from sleeps-with-vibroblades so long ago. It was a bad feeling.

"Caged rancors don't respond well to antagonism," Thayne said, keeping his voice low.

"They respond better to grenades, actually," Revan returned.

Atton laid a hand on his new twin lightsabers, wishing fervently that he still had the old ones. The Twelve had taken them from him, naturally, so now he had two less powerful replacements. He'd tricked out his old ones with some serious crystals. However, puny lightsabers were better than none.

"Thayne and I will take the front of the group. Atton, you and Case bring up the back. I don't want any more surprises just yet," Revan murmured. She faced the men, her face still calm.

"This is unexpected, but it means nothing," she announced to the troops, "They are trying to make us fear them. They are the ones who should be afraid. They have less to gain, more to lose, and they don't love this planet like we do. We will take back what is ours, and Force help whoever tries to stop us."

Atton watched as the faces of the men went from fearful to determined in the space of twenty seconds. When one listened to Revan's courageous and empowered voice, it was nearly impossible not to believe her. She quickly had a few men pull out lights from their packs. Preferable would be night vision technology, but that wasn't available on Xent. They would just have to kill whoever saw them faster than they themselves could be killed.

Revan strode out through the door, inactive lightsaber in hand, the men following quickly behind her and Thayne. Atton and Case brought up the rear, their senses on alert for anything other than the marching of the men in front of them. Sparing half a glance at Case, Atton saw she still looked odd. He wouldn't have said anything, but if they had to fight back to back, it was best to be in tune with the other person. He'd hate to get killed because Case was having a mood swing.

"What's wrong?" he murmured.

"Do you really think this is the best time to talk?" she hissed back, glaring at him. Her eyes were hollow and the dark smudges underneath could be seen even in the inadequate light. The shadows made her look worse than she really did.

"You see a better time coming up?" Atton asked.

She stared hard at him for a moment, her jaw grinding back and forth. "We're married, Atton," growled quietly.

"I'm sorry, what?" he asked, leaning toward her. She couldn't have said what he thought she said.

"We got married," she repeated, even quieter this time.

Atton's mind froze. "W-we got…?"

"The rings are the markers for the marriage. They did it backwards for us, probably because we're foreigners and therefore dirt. We didn't get the pretty ceremony first."

"Annulment," he said.

"Can't. The rings don't come off. 'Til death do we part, sweetheart," Case said.

Suddenly a red glow appeared in front of the group. It was a red lightsaber. Atton was immediately on alert, searching for a dark presence. To his dismay he couldn't feel much in the room; it was numbing to his mind.

"Wait, it's Revan's saber," Case cautioned, squinting ahead. Her eyes widened. "That's a Bane's Heart crystal," she said in wonder.

"I'll take that as a good thing, but why the hell is it red?"

"Because the crystal's red. Well, it's more crimson, actually."

"Frak," Atton muttered as he caught movement out of the corner of his eye, "Visitors."

His lightsabers were in his hands in a second, their twin yellow glow burning through the dark. Case's purple ones flickered on a moment later. They stood back to back, searching for whatever was stalking them. For the first time Atton noticed the monstrous pillars that lines the walkway they were on. Strange pictures adorned the surface of the stone, depicting battles, creatures, and littered with odd symbols. Anything could be hiding behind one of them.

Warning brushed against Atton's mind, an alert from Revan. And yet nothing happened; no ambush, no snipers, nothing. The troops cautiously continued moving forward, their footsteps nervous and unsure on the hard stone floor of the hall. Atton imagined it would be impressive in the light. Danger pricked at his senses, unwilling to let him fully concentrate.

"This isn't right. I have a bad feeling about this," he growled.

"I know, but…" Case shook her head as if to clear it, "The air's as thick as muck in my head. I can't pin it down."

Case's words triggered something in Atton's mind. "Case," he said urgently, "This isn't going to work. They know more than we think they do. If I'm not back in five minutes, pull back to the turbolift. Don't let Revan stop you, whatever you do." With that he dove into the darkness and was swallowed up.

* * *

I'll try to have another chapter as fast as I can. I've started on Ch. 13 already, so hopefully it won't be the insane wait that this one was.

**Jax Solo** – Ha, ha, ha! Your Revan is something! Amusing and, if possible, even more averse to explaining things than my Revan is. I'm fairly sure the reason is that everyone sees Revan as essentially insane. Whether for what she's done or not. I mean, how could someone do everything she has (she even _wanted_ to battle Mandalorians) and still be sane? Not possible, in my book. Or she could have been born that way, which works too. But it sure makes her… interesting. :)

**CCX** – I am certainly glad you enjoyed my chapter. I wasn't sure what to think of it, personally. I'm still not. Shol was a surprise to me, honestly. Oh, and you can tell I wrote it very late at night. I tend to get fairly prolix (I know it shocks you that I'm wordy, right?) when I'm tired. You should see some of the papers I've written at three a.m. Yikes. So, your name is Crystal Cat X, right? And CCX is short for that? Or are you two different people?

**Qt3.14159 – **Ah hah! That makes so much more sense! With the line underneath your name, it looked like it was a "g" instead of a "q" in your name. I saw the pi, but I was like, "What the heck does 'gt' have to do with pi?" And I didn't notice the "q" because I'd just copy and paste names to respond to reviews. Whoa, everything's clear to me now!

**Shoelacesonmyhead – **How on earth did you come up with that name? Shoe laces? It's pretty awesome! I showed it to my sister and she got a kick out of it. Okay, I just wanted to say thanks for the amazing reviewing! You read the whole story in a day? Wow. That takes dedication I don't have. Not that I'm complaining. It's great to see that you like it! Thanks!

**DanceOfWords** – Glad you like it! I pretty much based my Exile's ineptitude with machinery off of the character in the game. She was absolutely hopeless at fixing anything. It got irritating really fast, but what could I do? She was awesome at healing, though. And yes, Shoelacesonmyhead is surprisingly interested in my story. Once again, I'm not complaining. That's a cool meaning for your name, though. Neat way to see words. :)

**The Outlander** – Oh! That makes sense for your name. Belgian? Cool. I'm one of the English speaking folk, as you can probably tell. I don't exactly sound like I can speak another language, do I? I can insult people in other languages, but that's less than unhelpful. Atton inutile? Hmm… Looking back on my story, I see that. I think it may be because when I played KotOR II, he wasn't that useful to me. He's talented, sure, but he never _used_ his talents in the game (mine, anyway). So that's kinda how I see him. Maybe I'll try changing it. Who knows? Oh, and I was happy to see someone else use the word "inutile" for once. I used it in a research paper and even my English teacher didn't know what it meant. So much for the education system. Last thing! I'm curious to see what your guess is for Revan since I have no idea how predictable my story is. And thanks again for the stupendous review! It was totally utile! (Get it? And I don't mean the mathematical utile).

**K.L. Clarion **– Thanks! Glad you like the story so much. I'll try to update as soon as I can. :) Happy to hear from new reviewers! You've made my day!


	13. Puppet Kings Pulling Strings

Okay! The thirteenth chapter. We're almost at the end now. I'm not entirely sure how many chapters are left, but not many, I'm pretty sure. Thanks to everyone who has stuck with me. You guys are all totally awesome!

* * *

Chapter Thirteen

Puppet Kings Pulling Strings

"Atton! _Atton!_" Case hissed. She cursed mentally, angrier than she should be. After Shol, her whole system was out of whack, unable to keep stable for very long. Her arms trembled as she held her lightsabers tighter, her knuckles bleached from the tight grip.

Atton's warning rang in her head. _If I'm not back in five minutes, pull back…don't let Revan stop you…_ What was that supposed to mean? That Revan was in on whatever was wrong? Case glanced up to the front of the group where their great leader was striding through the dark, her saber glowing ominously. _Could_ she stop Revan if it came to that? Normally, maybe, but in her current condition outsmarting Revan seemed like a long shot. Five minutes… could she wait that long? How long ago had he left? A minute? Two?

A moment later they passed through a pair of heavy metal doors, once again the typical swinging kind of Xent. The moment they passed through the doors, warning spiked in Case's mind. The doors slammed closed behind them, the noise crashing through the dark like the end of the world. The soldiers jumped whipped around, startled.

"It's okay," Revan's voice said, ringing through the sudden quiet. They turned back to her and once again began to follow.

Case hesitated before going after them; Atton wasn't with them. If Atton had gone through ahead of them, he would return to find her. But if not… She debated between informing Revan and keeping Atton's absence a secret. She settled on the latter, deciding that if Atton wanted Revan to know, he would have told her.

Suddenly lights began to flicker on all over the room. They started low and gradually got brighter until the whole place was without a single shadow. Everyone blinked in the brightness, their pupils readjusting to the light.

A scuffling noise ahead of them drew attention. Two figures emerged from behind one of the monster pillars that lined the room, one of the figures held in captivity by the other. Case peered ahead and was shocked by what she saw; it was Atton holding another member of the Twelve.

"Atton," Revan said, her voice level.

Shoving his prisoner forward, Atton approached the group. Case hung back, warily watching the situation.

"Tell them what you told me," Atton snarled at the man.

The captive said nothing, his face set into stony determination.

"This is Omyn, everyone," Atton said, his grip on the man tightening, "Omyn, tell them what you know or we'll watch your blood paint these pretty pillars here."

Case watched closely Omyn's mouth tightened angrily. He remained silent.

"They've got traps all around this floor," Atton said, twisting Omyn's arm painfully behind his back, "Most of them I disabled, but I'm sure there are still surprises. I'm willing to bet the rest of the Twelve are waiting somewhere nearby waiting for news that we kicked it."

Revan glanced suspiciously at Omyn before focusing on Atton. "And… anything else?" she said, her voice sounding odd. Case realized she meant Virote and his men.

Atton shook his head. "Nothing yet."

Nodding, Revan glanced over Atton and his prisoner. Case could make out a smile on her face. "Well, well. I'd ask how you did all this, but I'm not sure we have time to go over it," Revan said to Atton.

"I used to be pretty good at this," Atton answered, hauling Omyn forward. "What do you want to do with him?"

Revan considered Omyn for a moment. "Tie him up and bring him with," she said.

"Right." Atton took a length of cord from one of the soldiers and proceeded to quickly and efficiently bundle Omyn into a secure position. Case doubted he'd get out of those ties anytime soon. After handing the captive off to someone else, Atton discussed something in low tones with Revan before nodding and making his way back to where Case stood.

"Where did you go?" Case whispered.

"I figured someone was playing us. I found Omyn over there pulling the strings. Did you like his door trick?" Atton said with a slight smirk.

"The slamming? It was just super. Thanks for the lights, by the way," Case said.

"Sure," Atton replied, moving forward as the group pulled out.

"How did you know where to find him?"

"He's… like a Jedi in a way," he said hesitantly, "They like to hide in certain places that they think are hidden. So if you know where no one else would look, you know where to go."

"What did Revan say?" Case asked.

Atton's face sobered. "She doesn't think this is going to end well. She wants us to be alert and to protect Virote if we find him."

Case nodded. Her eyes drifted toward the front of the group where Revan stood hidden from sight by the bodies of others. She wondered…

"Damn," Atton muttered.

"What?"

"They're in there." He indicated another set of double doors ahead. "All of them."

Case tried to feel ahead, but she got almost nothing. She scowled. "Does Revan know?"

"I'd say yes," Atton replied, pointing at Revan halting to face the troops. Her voice rang out in the chamber.

"This is what we've been working for. They expect us to scatter when faced with death, but we will not. We are all here together, and we will leave together as victors of this planet's fate. Be surprised at nothing. Remember why we are here. Fight for your husbands, your wives, your children, your friends, your home," Revan called out.

Case turned to Atton, who gave her a grim smile.

"Let's give 'em hell."

XXXX

Revan walked with her heels a hair off the ground, the balls of her feet taking her weight. Anyone with two midichlorians to rub together could feel how wrong things were. Yet they all moved forward and through that last set of double doors. It wasn't that she had never walked straight into a trap before; it was that she didn't want to lead the men to their deaths.

She set her jaw and gripped her saber and marched on. When the doors swung open, bright light and hot, thick air rushed out to meet them. Revan squinted through the glare and saw the remaining ten Twelve standing in a row waiting to meet the intruders.

Revan grinned to herself – the _ten_ Twelve. It struck her as funny. _Let's just keep it together here, Revan,_ she advised herself, striding forward confidently, _plenty of time to crack later_.

"We can end things peacefully if you want," she said, stepping out of rank as she motioned for the troops to halt.

"You have killed our brother. Do you not believe that we are beyond peaceable conclusions?" one of the Twelve asked.

"If it had been avoidable, it would _not_ have been done," Revan replied sharply.

As she said the words, she wondered if it was true. Normally she knew herself well, but as of late she was finding harder to understand her own motivations. She didn't like that.

"Murderer," they said in unison.

Revan couldn't deny it. "Likewise," she answered.

Ghosts of smiles curled at the edges of their mouths. "Negotiations have no place here. This planet needs blood to nourish it."

"Then it will be yours," she said.

Their smiles grew into grins.

"Watch out!" shouted Case from the back of the troops.

Half turning, Revan caught sight of three creatures entering through the doors behind the troops. Shock stunned her for a split second. They were rancors the size of which she had never seen. They were easily two times larger than any natural rancor, and the reason seemed to be the chemical tubes lodged in their backs. Wires strung across their shoulders and backs and dug under their skin, feeding the luminescent green liquid into their bodies.

"What did you do to them?" Revan murmured to no one.

The rancors roared. Their teeth were unnaturally black and sharp. The hides were each different colors, one gray, one green-brown, and one nearly black; none were natural for a rancor and all were sickly deformed. They would kill every one of her men.

Just as Revan began to run forward, Atton leaped from the ground and landed on back of the gray one, his sabers in hand. He sliced at the thing's head, but the rancor appeared not to notice, its attention fixed on the delicious smelling men below it.

Atton slammed his lightsaber into one of the chemical tubes on its back. The thing exploded in a rush of steam and liquid that rushed down the gray rancor's back. The rancor shrieked a crackling, low shriek and thrashed at Atton. The black rancor next to it reached out a claw and swiped at Atton, who saw it just in time and leaped back to the ground.

Revan felt her stomach clench in near fear. The things were _aware_ in ways normal rancors were not. It knew enough to go for Atton while he was attacking the other rancor. That was very, very bad.

"They will not attack until we command them," a Twelve voice said behind Revan. When she said nothing, he continued, "You know you cannot win this. They will all die."

"What do you want?" she asked, turning to face them.

They still grinned at her in unison.

Behind them two soldiers came out dragging a third person, his head bent and blood smeared over his skin. He was breathing irregularly. They stopped a few meters from Revan and grabbed the third man by the hair, pulling his head up. It was Virote.

"His men are dead. He fought well enough," the Twelve observed.

A murmur of shock and horror rippled through the men behind Revan. She felt their morale switch from fear and determinations to unstable. If they watched their leader die, they would be like a snake without a head: useless and dead.

"What would you do to save this one?" they asked.

"What do you want?" she repeated.

"It is not what we want, but what our masters want," one of the Twelve replied.

Cold clutched at Revan's heart. "Who are your masters?"

Several doors behind the ten Twelve opened and in flooded soldiers armed to the teeth. They strode confidently forward to stand behind their rulers, prepared to fight and die for them. There were many more than the men Revan had.

"It is time," one of the Twelve said, "to stop this rebellion."

"It ends when you do," Revan snarled.

"It is a good day to die, I think," he sneered. His browned hand rose into the air, palm facing Revan and her troops. It dropped.

Shots flashed through the room, hitting some of Revan's men. They screamed in pain and dropped to the ground. Behind them the rancors roared and lashed out at the men near their feet, taking out three men at a time. Revan was torn, wanting to save her men and yet knowing she had to go to the source to end the fighting. The Twelve had to die.

"We don't have time for this," Revan hissed to herself. Breaking free of the swell of fighting men around her, she leaped into the air, landed and raced toward the remaining members of the Twelve.

As one they raised their right hands out toward her. Revan's stomach flipped as she was yanked off the ground and flung through the air. She hit a stone pillar on her left side and heard a sickening crack from her arm. The bone snapped, she screamed. She fell heavily to the ground.

Before she could even twitch a muscle, Atton and Thayne were at her side, helping her up and keeping anyone else from killing her. Case shot by, her lightsabers out; one of them she threw with amazing speed toward the Twelve. Revan clenched her teeth so tightly that they were sure to break into a million pieces. She cursed as her arm swung limply at her side. Forcing her other hand to let go of it, Revan summoned her saber from the ground. It flew to her hand and she gripped it in a hard fist.

XXXXX

As soon as Revan rose to her feet, Atton took off to join Case, who was engaged in battle with two of the Twelve. Their silver swords slashed through the air to meet Case's blade of light. The metal screamed in protest but held against the lightsaber's beam.

The only sounds in the room were the blasts of weapons and the yells of men trying to kill one another. Suddenly, with a cruel smile, one of the Twelve threw his hand out toward Case. She moved to jump out of the way, but an enemy soldier swung in toward her. Atton shouted to her, his heart in his throat at the sight of the Twelve's demonic grin. Case grunted as she bashed aside the soldier and reached for Atton, her arm outstretched, close to his. Suddenly she felt herself being thrown, soaring through the air.

Atton yelled as Case went flying and smashed through a wall covered in florescent lights. Electricity sparked over the opening as the lights died from the impact. No human could have survived it.

"Case!" Atton shouted. No answer. "_Case_!"

"I do not believe you will have to worry about her any longer," the Twelve laughed.

Turning back to the man, Atton bared his teeth. He desperately sent lines of the Force out to search for Case, cursing as he remembered that, whether she was alive or not, he would feel nothing. She didn't have a signature to follow. He felt the fear and anger threaten to overwhelm him, but he fought back; if she was alive, getting killed wouldn't help her.

Then the face of the Twelve registered; it was Omyn, and he had escaped. Atton snarled and threw a saber at him. It sliced with lightning speed through the air, but Omyn dodged the hit. Atton pushed the blade past Omyn before yanking it back. It struck him square in the back. Omyn's eyes widened with shock and pain. He dropped his weapon as blood began to leak from his mouth. As he fell, Atton summoned his lightsaber and deftly caught it, his eyes searching the hole in the wall for a sign of Case.

"STOP!"

The word was screamed with supernatural ability; a Force scream. The entire room bent with pain and clapped their hands over their ears, Atton included. He whipped around to see Revan striding smoothly toward the remaining Twelve, her face set hard as stone.

"I know what you are. Let them go," she snarled, her voice ripping through the air, still endowed with the Force. Many men quaked on their feet at the sound.

The Twelve laughed in unison; it was a whispered laugh, like wind through leaves. Then, before Atton's eyes they began to darken, their skin drying and cracking more with every second that ticked by. Their heads split at the top and black smoke was vomited from the gaping holes. The skins crumpled to the ground, empty and dry as corn husks.

A shiver went through Atton. "What the frak…?" he whispered, his voice hoarse.

The smoke hovered in the air for a moment. Then it began to shift, forming three looming figures that were roughly humanoid. They began to solidify somewhat, and yet they remained floating above the ground. One opened its mouth to speak, revealing rows of black teeth sharper than needles. Its voice was surprisingly smooth when it spoke. It felt like silk inside Atton's mind.

"_Very well done, Revan. Very well done,_" it said.

Revan locked onto the creature, swinging her lightsabers in slow, hypnotic arcs. The message was unmistakable: I am going to kill you.

"_You wish to end this dance of ours? Not yet, Revan. You must be patient."_

The wall behind them exploded, sending rock flying everywhere. Men ran for cover, shocked out of their stunned silence. Atton stood his ground, batting aside chunks of stone with the Force. That was the wall Case had flown into. He took off a split second after the explosion, his eyes scanning the haze of rock dust and debris for Case.

A figure emerged from the dust; Case. She coughed twice before looking around bewilderedly. Her eyes stopped at the sight of the three smokey silhouettes hovering above the ground. "Frak," she said.

The three figures half turned her way before refocusing on Revan, whose green eyes had never left the three of them. Atton dodged all as he raced to reach Case.

"Case!" he called.

She reached for him as he came close, her hands meeting his as he reached her. Completely covered in gray dust, she looked a mess. Atton breathed a shuddering sigh of relief as he gripped her fingers in his. A second later she had turned from him toward the sight of Revan facing down the three shadows. Atton frowned at them.

"_Admit what you know is true, Revan. You belong with us. Great and terrible are the things you could accomplish if you would only accept what we offer._"

"Hey!" Atton shouted. They turned toward him, their empty eye sockets seeming to burn at him. "What the hell are you?" he yelled, blatantly ignoring their intimidation. His blood chilled inside his veins as they drifted slightly closer, but he held his footing.

"_Ask your wife_," they replied.

Revan turned sharply and shouted. "Thayne, now!"

A second ticked by. It was followed quickly by one explosion, another, and another. Atton's eyes were drawn to Thayne, who was perched on top of a ledge chucking grenades at the ceiling above the three mutated rancor's heads. The rock gave way and fell down toward the rancors. The air was split with the creatures' shrieks and the sharp cracking of the bones that were demolished with the fallen stone. The ceiling continued to give way on top of the thrashing rancors. Finally the flow of rock ceased, as did the movement of the creatures below it. Green chemicals oozed from between the chunks of stone, searing the surfaces it touched.

"_Impressive,_" the shadows said, seemingly unconcerned with the deaths of their pets.

"We're done," Revan said.

"_Not yet. Realize that death is not what we ask; we simply want you to let everything inside of you die. Become what you are. Look around you at the universe and see the reflection of what you are, Revan. Can you see it dying? Accept. All things die. But you do not need to be like everything else. You are like nothing else._"

As they spoke, the shadows began to dissipate until they vanished altogether at the end of the speech. The men who had followed the Twelve glanced at one another in confusion and fear, all of them no doubt wondering what had become of their leaders.

Revan glared at the empty space that the creatures had been. She turned toward the crowd of men standing over bodies and debris. Atton didn't listen as she began to speak; Case's pulse could be felt clearly in her palms as it picked up speed.

"What?" Atton asked, facing her.

"I…I know what they meant. Revan…" Case looked toward Revan, who was still speaking to the men. Something about rebuilding. Atton wasn't paying attention.

"What about Revan?" Atton asked absently as began checking her over for injuries. "Why'd you blow out the whole fraking wall? Couldn't you just climb back out?" he asked irately, inspecting the various cuts on her body to make sure she wouldn't bleed to death. It seemed alright.

"They want her for something. I'm not sure what exactly, but it's bad. They don't want her dead like I thought they did. There's nothing very glorious about death. Anyone can do it," Case murmured, her eyes staring into infinity, "They want something else for her."

Just then Revan turned back to them. She walked over quickly, her eyes scanning Case. Apparently finding nothing to be alarmed of, Revan shifted her gaze to Atton.

"We have to go. This isn't finished yet, though I'd marry a Hutt if things would just be over and done with," she said.

"Where are we going?" Thayne asked. He walked toward the group, brushing rock dust out of his hair.

"I don't know," Revan answered, "Wherever _they_ went."

"But you have no idea where that is," Atton said, cocking an eyebrow at Revan.

"No. Do you?" she asked coldly.

"Hey, who needs a destination? Let's just pick a point on the chart and meander on over. I'm sure after a while we'll hit the right system. Then it's just a matter of searching all those pesky places for evil beings to hide," Atton replied sarcastically, "Personally I'd pick the secret chamber in a demonic burial ground."

"You don't understand what they could do, Atton. We have to find them. Even if we die trying, we _have_ to find them," Revan hissed.

"Look, let's work on transportation and figure out who's crazy later," Case said, pressing a hand to her forehead. Her eyes closed as if she was in pain.

"We don't have a ship," Thayne pointed out.

Revan shrugged. "There's always a ship. Trust me; we'll get out of here."

XXXXX

_Two standard hours later, 5 meters away from the Ebon Hawk…_

"It's damaged," Revan said flatly, her voice slightly accusing as she stared at her ship.

"So Xent can't take care of ships. How is that my fault?" Case grumbled.

The four of them stood looking at the _Ebon Hawk_, each and every one of them wondering how long it would take them to get the ship up and running. Apparently it was a custom for the Twelve to have traveler's transportation damaged and rendered useless.

"Just precautionary, I'm sure," Atton said drily.

Revan snorted, looking angry.

"We may as well find another ship. This thing looks like it's about ready to fall apart," Thayne said. He watched the ship dubiously.

"No, it's always looked like that," Revan said.

Atton grinned, cracking his fingers inside his fist. "You haven't seen these magic hands work," he said cockily.

Case rolled her eyes, but she couldn't deny that he was extremely skilled.

Atton turned to Case, giving her a sly look. "Unless you want to see for yourself _just_ what I can do with these hands," he said.

Shaking her head, Case walked forward, ignoring Atton. Despite her apparent irritation, her cheeks colored slightly. Atton trotted after her, looking amused.

Revan raised an eyebrow at the two of them. "Fine. Let's get cracking then. I'm not too bad with a hydrospanner myself." She went to join them.

Resisting the urge to run the other way, Thayne followed the three insane Jedi toward the ship, wondering if anyone would survive the three of them working in tandem. It was like an explosion; if it worked right, it was wonderful, but if things went south, everyone got blown up.

While they worked they tried to forget. No one wanted to think about the impossible task ahead of them. None wanted to consider the chaos that the planet of Xent would be falling into without leader ship. Thoughts of how much Virote would have to accomplish in order to save his home were unwelcome. They had refused a celebration in their honor, opting instead for a private farewell with Virote to wish him luck. Now they repaired their ship as the people of Xent prepare to fix their entire world.

Atton worked silently alongside Case, his hands working slowly over the tangle of wires in front of him. It was as if someone had chewed the things. He glanced occasionally at Case, still wondering if she was alone in her mind once again.

"What are you thinking?" he asked abruptly, not looking up.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Case look up from her work at him. She smiled the smallest of smiles, her eyes still ringed with purple smudges.

"I'm playing pazaak in my mind. That's what helped me get him out, you know. He wanted my memories," she said.

Atton looked up, surprised.

"Thanks," she said.

Revan's head poked into the room, her long black hair tied up in a messy knot. "Hey, we're just about ready to take off. We've got food, fuel, and everything else we need to live in deep space for a while. You guys just about finished?"

"Yeah, just about," Atton replied.

Revan nodded and left.

And Atton truly believed they were almost done. The end was in sight, though what awaited them there he was not sure. Glancing once again at Case, who had gone back to her work, Atton wondered if he wanted to reach the end.

Twenty minutes later the Ebon Hawk took off toward the skyline, leaving behind it the broken, healing planet Xent. It soon shot into hyperspeed, heading toward whatever future the Fates had created for its passengers. Likelihood was the ship would outlast the humans on board. Only time would tell.

* * *

A special thanks to SeaBreeze, The Outlander, DanceOfWords, 1x1pEngUIn89, Jax Solo, K.L. Clarion and several others! All of my reviewers rock!

1x1pEngUIn89 -- Glad you liked the chapter. Here's more for ya!

K.L. Clarion -- I don't plan on giving up on this story, so I won't leave you hanging forever. I know where you're coming from, though. It's obnoxious!

Crystal Cat X -- Yeah, I based it off my experience with migrains. Icky.

Jax Solo -- Yes, madness is totally a Revan thing. Crazy, crazy, crazy.

shoelacesonmyhead -- Thanks.

DanceOfWords -- "Kablamee"? Cool word.

Paladin of Farore -- That's too bad. I just know the female Revan better than the male and I actually find her more complex. I do like the Revan/Bastila pairing, though. I'd love to be able to write male Revan, but I haven't had much success yet. Maybe I'll make that my next project. Thanks for reading the first chapter, though!

Angie On Ice -- Nifty name! Yes, I did say nifty. Anyway, thanks for the review. Yes, I like female Revan too.


	14. Going Places That I've Never Been

Okay, here starts just some character stuff. I'm laying off the central plot for a bit since there's not much left of it. Who likes plots anyway? Not me, no sir. Plus I have parts I wrote in advance that I'd like to incorporate into the story. So here ya are!

Thank you all of my reviewers! You guys are like sunshine, or chocolate, or an awesome song! My point is that you all rock!

I have 99 reviews?! That is so awesome! I absolutely love you guys! A really big hug or a new car for whoever gives me the 100th review! Oh my... I can't fathom that there are that many... Did I mention I love you all?

* * *

Chapter Fourteen

Goin' Places That I've Never Been

"So, you want to go over what the hell happened back there?" Atton asked, mashing his thumb into the autopilot button. He was sitting in the pilot's seat, watching the monitors as the _Hawk_ cruised in hyperspeed on its way toward wherever they were going; Atton still had no idea beyond what Revan had told him: "We're going out and away. Get ready for a very long and dull trip, Atton." Yeah, whatever that meant.

"What don't you understand?" Case asked, striding up behind him.

"Well, the part where the Twelve melted into empty skins was a little different, wouldn't you say?" Atton replied with a touch of sarcasm.

"No," Case said.

Atton swiveled the chair around to face her, one eyebrow slightly raised. Case rolled her eyes and moved to lean on the console in order to face him.

"There are things chasing Revan. Or maybe she's chasing them, I don't know. What I do know is that the Twelve were their vessels, their willing slaves. They…" she paused, mulling words over in her mind, "They, the Twelve, were puppet kings pulling the strings of Xent for Revan's phantoms. I don't know why. And the phantoms… I think they're some kind of ancient evil. Maybe even the True Sith. I'm not sure."

"And that's why they cracked like old eggs?"

Case wrinkled her nose. "Yeah, that's why. The Twelve were… imbedded in them somehow, I guess. They just popped back out."

"Nice mental image," Atton said.

"Mmm," Case said distractedly, glancing at the console. "How's our progress?"

"To where?" Atton snorted.

"Wherever we're going."

"You mean 'out and away'?" he said.

Case laughed. "Yeah, there."

He shrugged and put his hands behind his head, leaning back in his seat,"Can't make bad time to nowhere."

"True," she mused.

Atton nodded and was silent. He stared out at the tunnel of blue light and then glanced back at Case. Her hand was sitting near to his on the console, no more than five centimeters away. His palms prickled at the proximity. A mad urge to reach out and take her fingers in his seized him, but he ignored it and leaned back in his seat, running a gloved hand through his dark brown hair.

"Case…" he said, and then stopped, unsure of how to continue.

"You want any caffa?" she asked suddenly, pushing away from the console and heading for the door.

"Wait," Atton said, rising quickly from his chair.

Hesitating on her way out, Case half turned to look at him.

Atton curled his hands into fists, not sure exactly what to say now that she'd stopped. He hadn't thought she'd actually _listen_. "What did you see? You know, with Shol inside your head?" he asked. Mentally, he cursed himself; that was not what he had been about to say.

"I saw dark. Death. It was odd. It felt almost like the Force, but different. Emptier," Case replied, trying to appear nonchalant.

Atton took a step forward and gently held her by the shoulders, turning her to face him. Her eyes were on the floor, the curtain of her blond hair drawn over her face. He lifted his hands and brushed it away, revealing her set features. She was still pale from her crash through the wall and the rape of her mind. "I'm sorry," he said.

"Me too." She carefully extricated herself from his grip. She turned and left the cockpit, not looking back.

XXXXX

Case frowned at the hyperdrive, wondering what she was missing. Thayne had told her to check on it to be sure it was still functioning properly, but Case wasn't sure exactly what she should be looking for. It _looked_ okay, it _sounded_ okay, but that was to her untrained ears and eyes. Pulling out her hydrospanner, Case decided to carefully poke around.

Footsteps approaching her from behind make her whip around quickly, fearing someone had come to freak out about her near machinery. It was Revan. She didn't look alarmed, more sulky. Case went back to her work, sure Revan would say what she wanted without encouragement.

"So," Revan said, stepping closer, her arms crossed over her chest.

"So…?" Case asked, not looking up. Wait, where did that come from? Was it supposed to pop out like that? she wondered, staring at the metal that had come loose in her hand. She glanced at Revan who still did not look alarmed. That had to be a good sign, right?

So," Revan repeated, looking down her nose at Case, "You're a Jedi Watchman, huh? I was talking to Atton about your little trip to save the galaxy, and he told me you were a Watchman."

"Yeah…I guess," Case said, glancing quizzically at the former Sith lord. She kept working on the hyperdrive, wiggling her hydrospanner experimentally.

"Did Kreia promote you?" Revan asked, her voice probing.

"Yes, she did," Case replied, having no idea where the conversation was heading.

"She was my master too, you know. Before… stuff happened," Revan continued, circling slowly around the younger, and at the moment, harder working Jedi.

"I heard that."

"She never promoted me," Revan said suspiciously.

"Maybe you didn't learn fast enough," Case said with a wry smile, "She pushed me pretty hard for instantaneous learning."

"I learned just fine, thanks," Revan snipped. She paused for a moment. "Besides, I wouldn't want to be a Watchman anyway. I'm more of a rush in and wing it person."

"Neat," Case grunted, prying a now wrecked part from the hyperdrive. Oops.

"Watch it," Revan warned, pointing out an exposed wire.

"Thanks." Case quickly tucked the wire away.

"…So I guess that means you're a Jedi Master now, too."

"I suppose so, yeah."

"Even though you never technically became a Knight first…"

"Your point?"

"I never got a promotion," Revan complained, pouting as she absently tapped her boot on the floor.

Case looked up from her work and smiled. "Well, as you know, the official reinstatement of the Jedi Order is developing, and I happen to know the man in charge of it now. He was a student of mine, if you recall."

"Humble," Revan said with a raised brow.

"I could put in a good word for you. Mention the adequate battles you've been in," Case quipped.

Revan snorted. "Yeah, _adequate_. Besides I don't need you to arrange a promotion for me… But it would be nice to be a Weapon Master. I'm so talented it would be a shame to waste such a marvelous chance for the Order," she said with a grin. "Besides, I could fight and _think_ circles around Mical, from what I've heard."

"True, and yet he has authority you don't; he's got padawans," Case said, returning the grin.

Revan scowled. "Padawans are stupid," she muttered before stalking out of the room.

With a shake of her head, Case returned to her work wondering why Thayne had made her of all people check on the hyperdrive. The last thing she wanted was for Atton to come strolling in and either give her a hard time about being slow or _fix_ her work for her. Either way she would punch his face in if he tried it. Besides, if his ego got any bigger he'd have to walk sideways just to fit through the halls.

"Hey, you up for a spar?"

Case turned toward the doorway. Revan was back. "Sure," she replied.

"Okay then. Ten minutes, the storage room?"

"I'll be there."

"Good," Revan said.

XXXXX

"Come on, Revan. What happened to the Jedi prodigy?" Case taunted as she closed in on Revan, her lighsabers dancing through the air. She felt good with her own sabers in her grasp once again.

"Try this then," Revan said with a cocky grin.

Case gripped her lightsabers and focused on Revan's movements, the slight twists of her wrists and feet to gain balance. She parried every attack, watching. Then she saw it, the pattern of movements that was designed to drive off powerful foes in smaller numbers. She copied the movement timing it along with Revan's attacks, feinting and dodging to move in closer.

Eyes widening in surprise, Revan intensified her technique, driving Case back toward the storage room wall. With a flick of her wrist, she effectively pinned Case's saber to the wall. A second later she was shifted back by a Force push from the Exile, giving her just enough leverage to attack again. They fought back and forth, the scale tipping to one side and then the other before they collided in the center off the room, sabers hissing and crackling as the weapons pressed together. Simultaneously deactivating their sabers, both women nodded in approval. Revan grinned at her old colleague.

"Where did you learn that form?" Case asked curiously, stowing her lightsabers in their loops on her belt.

"Made it up. Wandering unknown space gets boring after a while," Revan explained, holstering her own weapon.

Case kicked herself mentally; she should have done that! It would have saved her weeks of boredom and a headache from coming up with ridiculous children's songs. But it was too late. Maybe next time.

Revan smiled at her and said, "Just like I remember. You learn so fast. I had almost forgotten. You've gotten stronger, too," Revan observed, looking the other woman up and down.

"And you're just as arrogant," Case returned with a smile.

"What can I say? I'm magnificent," Revan said with a shrug. She froze, realization crossing her features.

"Wait, let me see your lightsaber," Revan said, her face intent.

Case shrugged and held out her orange saber.

"No, the viridian one," Revan clarified, reaching out to take the weapon from Case. She looked at it intently, her fingers tracing the ruts in the metal as if she could read meaning in them.

"What?" Case asked after several moments had passed.

"You have an _attuned_ crystal," she said with amazement, "Do you know how rare that is?"

"No. Kreia just told me that it—"

"She made you a Watchman _and_ gave you an attuned crystal?" Revan demanded. When Case nodded, she scowled and thrust the weapon back at its owner. "Fine. I don't care that she liked you better. I'm fine with my violet synth-crystal saber. Besides, I have a Banes Heart now. I don't need a pet crystal to make me happy," she grumbled, marching out of the room.

Case laughed and went to change out of her workout clothes.

XXXXX

Case glanced back at the metal piece. She hoped it wasn't important. The ship was still running, so that was a good sign. Maybe she'd ask Thayne to take a look.

XXXXX

Revan sighed as she pushed her fingers through the running water in the refresher. The cool felt good to her sore joints; that was the last time she took Case up on an offer to spar. The girl was crazy when she fought; it was slow, methodical, surprising, and took forever for her to be beaten back. And yet usually she slowly and surely gained the advantage over her opponent. Revan's style was to pull victory out of a hat at the last second or maul through to the end. At least in single hand-to-hand combat.

The light above her head darkened, throwing her into a kind of twilight. She looked up and saw a dark mist hovering behind the surface of the mirror. The black silhouette of a face grinned at her, marring the reflection of her own features into a hideous mask of horror.

"What?" Revan snapped angrily, fighting a sudden dizziness that flowed over her.

_Betrayer…_ it hissed.

Revan ignored it and gripped the edge of the refresher with her wet hands, feeling her fingers slip against the metal.

_So far to fall, and yet the end rushes to meet you, little Jedi. Have you told them what you know? Have you told them that all is in vain…_

Shock tore through Revan. She knew that voice… Her green eyes widened as she stumbled back from the mirror, her back hitting the wall with a thud. A ridge in the wall cut into her shoulder blade, almost unnoticed by her as she stared back at the face.

_You of all people should not be surprised, Revan. You know of such things. The Force is strong, but it can be dominated_.

"You hate the Force," Revan whispered.

_There must always be a Darth Traya; one to orchestrate happenings from the shadows. There must be a Betrayer, Revan._

"Don't look at me. I retired from Evil Inc. a long time ago," Revan shot back.

_Consider it drafting. If you are not the Betrayer, someone else must fall and take that place. Is that what you want? For one of those you love to suffer for you. It is you, Revan. Destiny is an odd thing; there is no escaping it for most. And yet you cut through it like a blade_.

"Can I have the other Sith back, please?" Revan growled, "I liked it better when I didn't know who I was talking to."

_Are you so willing to lose all you have gained? I think not. Do you intend to let them follow you blindly?_

"Exactly what have I gained? Case and Atton are regular sweethearts, but I think they know the risks," she said pointedly.

_Everything has a breaking point, cracks in their structure that can be manipulated. You know this. You are broken; the cracks run long and deep through you, yet one is deeper than the rest._

The mist in the mirror began to shift and color until it was a fuzzy image before Revan's eyes. It refined itself until a new face looked back at her. The brown eyes pierced her, and the orange jacket was like a knife to her heart.

"NO!" she shouted, lurching forward. Her fists collided with the glass, sending cracks snaking away from her hands.

_You are afraid to lose him. Love is a selfish thing; you would give up so much to save one man who means so much to you, as if that made him more important. Such a thing does not become you_.

"You don't want to see me truly broken. I'm like one of those cracks you talk about," Revan hissed, smiling nastily, "and I'm getting bigger all the time. Push me too hard and everything breaks. _Everything_."

The handsome face of Republic Admiral Carth Onasi vanished, replaced by the old, wrinkled features of Traya.

_That is what we are counting on, Revan._

XXXXX

Case sighed and rolled her shoulders, listening to them pop as she pulled on her clean shirt. After leaving Atton in the cockpit, she had made a beeline for Revan, knowing her old general was always up for a sparring match. She wasn't sure who had won, but the point was that it had taken her mind off of Shol, the Sith, Atton, everything. That was one thing she loved about fighting a legendary Jedi: it didn't leave room for thinking beyond the battle. Although at the moment, the quiet of the bunker was welcome.

"Hey," said a voice just behind her.

She whipped around and came face to face with the grinning Atton Rand. "Force! What are you doing?" she snipped. Then, relenting, she shook her head at him. "You surprised me. That's hard to do."

"Your little training session stress you out?" Atton teased.

"No," she said, "It relieved the stress, actually." She turned and reached down to grab her boots. They leaped off the floor and floated straight into her hands. Atton grinned down at her.

"Just thought I'd spare your back," he said.

"Uh huh," she said, rolling her eyes.

"So. You get any mystical insights from a match with the Prodigal Knight?" Atton asked, stepping closer.

"Maybe a few. Hope you don't mind if I keep them to myself," Case said, smiling.

"No problem. Tell me something else, though," Atton said.

"What?" she asked, lacing up her boots. When she straightened, she found her back against the rail of a bunk bed and Atton's sly smile much closer to her.

"What did you mean by 'I only have one'?" he asked, his voice low.

Case blinked. "I have no idea what you're talking about," she said, drawing a blank.

"Before we left Telos," Atton clarified, "You said that, and then…"

Blood rushed to Case's face, coloring her cheeks and forehead. Why couldn't she just go pale like all the other women she knew when she was embarrassed? No, it had to be flaming red face! She knew what Atton was talking about. When she kissed him, he meant.

"Oh. Well, you know, it was something to say. Made me sound all mystical, didn't it?" she teased.

"I don't believe you," he said.

Of course he didn't. The jerk knew her too well for that. "I just… it wasn't that important, okay?"

"I want to know. Come on, I saved your life back there. You owe me," Atton said.

"Really? Well, then," she said, rolling her eyes to the ceiling.

"Really. What did you mean? I've waited months to ask you this, so getting out of it isn't in the cards, Sweetheart."

"I just… meant that…" Case struggled in her search for words, her face darkening to crimson."

"Yes?"

"It was… look, can't you just leave me alone?" Case whined, glancing past him at the appealingly open door.

"I don't think so." Without warning, Atton stepped forward and hooked the back of her neck with one hand, the other going around her waist. Any more protests died on Case's lips, or rather Atton's lips, as he kissed her. Blood rushed to Case's head and created a pounding in her ears, blocking out all sound. Atton teased her at first, his lips brushing over hers, tantalizingly soft, and then the world danced as his tongue slid over her bottom lip. Case inhaled sharply closed her mouth over his, her hand snatching at his hair to hold him to her. The kiss was sweet, warm, and tasted of a stomach-dropping fall.

All too soon it was over and Atton was pulling away. Case felt her gut wrench at the sudden loss of him against her mouth, but he soon returned, his lips brushing her nose, one eyelid, and then barely touching her bottom lip. Her head spun until she was sure she'd fall if not for the metal against her back. What was he doing to her? She felt almost crazy as he teased her senses. She tried to kiss him, but he wouldn't stay still long enough.

Finally he moved back, his torso still touching her, but his head was too far away for her to kiss him. He grinned down at her, his eyes glinting.

Case struggled to recapture her wits as they skipped and frolicked away from her. "That," she said after a breath or two, "was only my second kiss."

Suddenly Atton frowned, jealousy jabbing painfully at his chest. "Who was the first?" he asked almost sullenly.

Case looked at him strangely.

A thought struck him. "Was it Mical?" he demanded. Very unpleasant things drifted into his mind concerning the Jedi Disciple.

"Huh? No," she denied.

"It was," he accused.

"No! Idiot," Case said, her arms flailing out to her sides in frustration. Her face burned again. "You were."

"I was what?"

"My first kiss," Case said, a blush rising to her cheeks. But she looked at him with unwavering eyes. "Like you said, right before you left. You know, the morning you called me on my plan to leave without anyone else."

"No," he said disbelievingly. He had had enough problems believing that she was a virgin after being in a war and then years of wandering on the Outer Rim, but to think that he had been her first kiss? He didn't believe it.

"Was it? No," Atton said dubiously.

"I'm being serious," she insisted, "Why does no one ever believe me?"

"You've had this conversation with someone else?" he asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"No, not that."

"I never thought…" Atton said.

"You're not the only one."

He brushed his thumb against the corner of her mouth, frowning down at her.

She sighed. "Yes, it's all true. Happy?"

"You're not lying to me?" he asked.

"_No_. I've only been kissed twice. How would I have done more than that with anyone?"

Atton stroked his chin. "Well, you don't _need_ to kiss to get further than tha—ouch!" He laughed as Case slugged his shoulder.

A knock at the door interrupted them. They both looked up and shot apart like shrapnel. Thayne walked in.

"Dinner's ready. Caffa with dried noodles," he said, his face scrunched with dislike.

"Yum," Case said without enthusiasm.

"Revan made it," Thayne said, his eyebrows lifting significantly.

Atton and Case glanced at one another. Neither knew what Revan's cooking skills were like. "Is that… bad?" Case asked.

"You've never eaten her cooking?" Thayne asked, surprised. He shrugged, "Probably better you don't know what's coming. She has a thing for instant food that tastes like it came out of the wrong end of a bantha. She likes it, but most sentient beings can't stand it." He retreated out the door.

"We should think about rotations for cooking," Case said immediately.

"Smart," Atton said, putting his hand on the small of her back as they walked toward the meal area.

XXXXX

"You've got to have a stomach of cast iron," Case groaned, slowly sipping her caffa as she waited for her body to digest the questionably edible meal. She glanced over at Revan, who was on her third bowl of flash frozen noodles.

"I like it," Revan said, shrugging. She slurped down the remaining soup-flavored water that passed as broth.

"Ick," Case said, leaning back in her chair. They were both sitting in the cockpit, silently watching space fly by.

"Case?"

"Yes?" Case asked, turning to Revan.

"Can I talk to you about something?" Revan asked.

"Sure, I suppose." Case said, taking a gulp of her cooling caffa.

"I want to talk about you and Atton."

Case's eyes darkened and her face became guarded. "What about?"

"Being tricked into an unbreakable marriage contract may be inconvenient, but I think… it's best."

"What?" Case choked. She glared. "It's against the Jedi regulations, it's against what I wanted; it wasn't my choice. Or his."

"I think you two can do more for life and for the Force together than apart. I wish I'd had that." Revan glanced away, saddened, for she had always been meant to stay alone.

"Atton's a child," Case said, crossing her arms over her stomach.

"He loves you."

Case blinked.

"It's true," Revan said with a nod, "I can see it. And you…"

"I love him too, right?" she said, clearly not serious.

"You don't know love," Revan said, "You're so close to life, and yet love is something you don't get. Platonic love, sure, but not the kind that… I think you can learn it. I think you should try."

"Why? There's no point," Case said, gripping her cup tightly.

"There's a point. You know there is. I don't want to see you throw something like this awa—"

"Thanks, but I can handle this," Case said sharply.

Revan nodded slowly and silently. "Okay," she said after a moment, "if I can help, say something." She stood, gathering her bowl and fork, and then she walked back toward the kitchen.

Case stared outside the window, trying to forget Revan's words. It was insane. With a sigh, she finished the rest of her caffa and leaned forward to check their progress.

* * *

CCX -- Yes, it's off of my headaches. They're really not that fun. The rancors were a surprise to me, actually. Glad you liked them, though!

DanceOfWords -- Your middle name? I'm assuming you're joking. :) Though that would be pretty funny. Yes, I'm busy, but I'll be finishing this story unless... well, unless I don't, I guess. I fully intend to, though! The chapter name was totally random. I was posting it and I put down the first thing that came into my head. I don't really liked it, but Puppet Kings would be a pretty cool band name!

The Outlander -- Your laptop died?! I am so sorry! I would drop over dead if I didn't have something to write with. Makes me crazy just thinking about it. Thank all that is holy that there are computer wizards like your brother to fix stuff like that. My brother kinda can, but he usually won't help me. :( As far as Atton, I actually intended to do nothing much with him, but it just kinda worked out that way. I'm credible? Why, thank you! Yeah, I like rancors too. Ever since I played the first KotOR game. Yeah, you've used them too! THAT's how you spell Terent'a'tek? I kept trying to find that. No, I would never kill Case! Unless I can't help myself, but I doubt I will. Well... the Twelve didn't EXACTLY get away. Yes, Revan will have to make a choice, but who doesn't, really? Thanks again for an amazing review. You totally rock!

Angie On Ice -- Yeah, the whole group is pretty much whacked out crazy koocoo labanza. Glad you liked the chapter, Angie!

shoelacesonmyhead -- man, I love your name! Anyway, the name... check my reply to DanceOfWords. Thanks for another review!

The Outlander (for chapter twelve) -- Don't feel bad! I'm almost never on time reviewing your stuff, so I certainly don't demand that you review immediately. You're on the reply list now, so let's see a smile! :) Once again, I feel your pain with your laptop. The same thing happened with mine, but Ptolemy (my computer) never recovered. Luckily it was a super old one that was scheduled for death anyway (like a 90 something model). I can't wait to read your next chapter! Redos on chapters are painful, I know. Glad to know it's all okay, though. "In this Case." Ha, ha! Yeah, lame but funny. :) I love explosions! I should have done one. I'm not good at them though, so that makes me sad. I'm also not great at fighting... eh. I like characters too, but sometimes I find the task daunting, so I avoid it. I'm trying to fix that. You're not overly critical, don't worry. You've given me an opinion expressed well, so thanks. Your reviews help me write my story, like reviews are supposed to. I'm not very experienced with writing either. I wasn't taught to read until I was nearly ten (but then I went from "I like to eat" to 300 page books), and I was never taught to write (I wrote my first real paper senior year). This is not bragging (it's actually kinda sad, isn't it?), I'm just illustrating my lack of experience. Besides, you're a good writer! Especially if you don't have much experience. :)


	15. We, the Mad

I was going to make one of those punctuation pictures for Sarcasm Turtle, but the formatting on this thing won't let me. So instead, I'll give you a huge HUG and say "Thank you!" You were my 100th reviewer! Thanks so much! By the way it's great to hear from you!

Alright, as much as I hate to do this, I think it's best. I am getting very busy with things in my life, so I need to end this story. It won't be the way I envisioned it, but it's pretty okay. I was going to bring Carth into it and go deeper into Atton and Case's relationship, but I don't have time. **If I don't finish it, like, yesterday, I won't ever finish it.** And I really don't want to leave it unfinished.

So. I have one more chapter after this and then the story is done. Maybe someday I'll come back and do it that way I wanted, but if I ever do, it'll be a long, long, time. Likely I'll never come back to this story, but we'll see.

* * *

Chapter Fifteen

Atton tried to sit still on his bed, tried not to think about Case… especially not kissing Case… He shook his head, trying to stop his thoughts from continuing down that line as he knew they would. He slid his hands into his hair and leaned his elbows on his knees. What was he doing? He couldn't _settle down_. Just those two words together made him itch to escape. Or vomit. But when it thought about it with Case… it didn't repulse him quite as much.

It was entirely possible for them to still have those damn rings and live their separate lives. Neither of them would ever marry of their own free will, so there wouldn't be any legal issues. He chuckled humorlessly to himself; as if he would separate his future from hers. It was impossible. He groaned as once again he realized just how deep he was in the situation. For a moment he tried to imagine leaving, traveling out of the galaxy. But that future was empty, like before.

"Damn it," he growled, rolling back onto his bed. He narrowed his eyes at the ceiling, wishing for a moment that it would fall on him and crush his spinning head.

What had possessed him to kiss Case like that? Madness had seized him. At the time it seemed like a good idea, but now Case wasn't talking to him and he had no idea how to deal with that. Normally he'd leave, but where the hell was he going to go? They were soaring through uncharted space toward gods knew where with no idea why.

With a grunt he pushed himself off the bed and marched toward the door, frustrated and determined to settle things. Well, maybe not _settle_, but he was going to do something about it. Halfway to the women's bunker he stopped dead in his tracks. _What the hell am I doing?_ he thought, irritated. With a snarl he turned and made his way to the cockpit instead.

Thayne looked up from the pilot's seat as Atton entered. He smiled wearily and said, "Hey. How's…?"

"Move," Atton said, standing as a tall, angry pillar next to Thayne.

Raising his eyebrows, Thayne leaned back in his chair with an air of humor. "I'm pretty comfortable here, thanks. Unless you can give me a good reason to move, I think I'll just kick back and watch the stars go by. Relaxing and all that."

Narrowing his eyes, Atton snapped his hand out and sent Thayne shooting over the chair, out the door, and into the hallway. Thayne yelled once and struggled to catch himself as he landed. Atton slumped into the chair and began to fiddle aimlessly with the controls.

"What the hell?" Thayne shouted, angry.

"Go to hell," Atton called back sullenly.

A moment later Revan was in the cockpit, glaring back and forth between the men. "What is _wrong_ with you two? It's hard enough getting sleep when it's quiet. I don't need you slinging mud while I'm trying to rest," she snapped. As she snarled at the offenders, Case appeared in the hall. She looked tired.

"Seems like everyone drank their happy juice this morning," Case muttered as she picked her way around Thayne and Revan to stand by Atton.

"Now, why was Thayne in a heap on the floor?" Revan asked. Her voice was more curious than accusing.

Atton glowered at Case. "What?"

"It's my shift for pilot," Case replied.

"Come back later. I've got it," Atton said.

"No. I need time looking at something other than the inside of this ship."

"Too bad."

"What's up with you?" she asked, frowning.

Thayne answered her: "Someone shoved a hydrospanner up his—"

"Not helping," Case interrupted. Thayne scowled. Frowning at Thayne, Case looked up at Revan and asked, "Could you two give us a minute?"

Revan nodded silently and motioned for Thayne to follow her. The two left the cockpit and shut the door as they went.

"We should talk," Case said.

"No, we shouldn't," Atton said firmly.

"Atton…" Case moved in front of him and sat down on a portion of the console, careful not to sit on anything important. "I care about you, but I'm not sure this is the best time for anything but what we're _supposed_ to be doing."

"Yeah? What's that?" he grunted, refusing to look at her.

"Going to war." She tapped her nails on the metal, the sound making a clicking echo in the cockpit. "I want to work through this whole mess. I… want to be with you," she said, her throat constricting slightly, "But not now."

"Sorry to disappoint you, but that's not what I want," Atton said.

Case waited.

"You're a Jedi; you can't marry. _I_ wouldn't choose marriage if someone had a blaster down my throat. Don't waste your time pretending it's something else."

Nodding, Case stood from the console. "Right. That's what I needed to know." As she moved to leave, the cockpit door sprang back into the wall and Thayne rushed through the door.

"Get out of the seat!" Thayne shouted at Atton. When Atton didn't move, Thayne snarled and reached over him to hit a switch. He quickly rushed back to the map screen on the wall, his face pale.

"What is it?" Case asked as Revan hurried into the room.

"Where?" Revan asked, moving closer to the map.

"There. That's where we need to go," Thayne said. His voice shook.

Revan nodded, silent, strained.

"I don't know how, but I know this is it. We're only about an hour out," Thayne said, his voice intense.

Case glanced at the margins of the map toward the information column. There was a solitary blue "N/A" lit on the screen. Nothing else appeared.

"Are you sure…" Revan started.

"I'm sure," Thayne replied with conviction. His eyes locked on hers.

There was silence for a moment.

"Put us on course," Revan said, her gaze never leaving Thayne's.

"What, you get a vision leading you to a strange planet?" Atton tossed over his shoulder, "or is this another blind stab at trying to find a pl—?"

"Put us on course," Revan repeated.

Atton punched in the coordinates, his face stony. Revan turned and left without another word, quickly followed by Case and Thayne. Atton could feel their mission drawing to a close, and it was not a pleasant one.

XXXXX

"Revan," Case said, striding to catch up with the dark-haired woman.

"Not now." Revan halted at the holo map and quickly began to work out their ETA.

"Revan, I know what this is. This is where those phantoms are. What _are_ they? What's going on?" Case demanded, "I see things in my mind, but I don't know what they are. Please…"

"They're the True Sith," Revan said, eyes glued to the map.

"What does that even mean?" She was frustrated.

Revan turned to face Case, green fire flickering in her eyes. "It means that they are an ancient race all but dead. They don't serve the Force. They serve the opposite. The Force is responsible for life and the manipulation of life; the True Sith serve the Power that is responsible for death. It balances the Force; it is its other half. Just like the Jedi become part of the Force when they die, those phantoms you saw died as a part of that Power. They can't be killed now. The Sith you know are a perversion of the True Sith, and the way of the True Sith is long since lost. It's like apathy as compared to love; apathy isn't evil or good, it just is. But apathetic beings can cause terrible tragedies."

"And you're one of them," Case said softly, "The True Sith."

Revan's face softened somewhat. "Yes, I'm one of them."

Her admission struck Case hard in the chest, but she did not waver. "Then why are you fighting them?"

"For the same reason I chose to use the Star Forge."

"And go to the Dark Side."

"Yes."

Case nodded. "You're using them."

"I am."

"And you're using us."

"I am."

"Can you do this?" Case asked, taking a step closer, "Can you defeat them?"

"No. No one can. The Force began all life; this Power is going to end it completely. I'm trying to delay that for a few millennia."

"Are you strong enough to do that?"

"Probably not."

"Revan..."

"Well, that's life isn't it? You charge ahead and get a hit. And you charge on and someone passes you. Eventually someone passes them. Time levels. Everything is cyclical. I was never and will never be more or less powerful than any other being. It's what I choose to do that makes everyone look up and take notice," Revan said, "Mostly because what I do is insane."

"…When do we land?"

Revan smiled sadly. "Too soon."

XXXXX

The _Ebon Hawk_ flew in low as she broke into the atmosphere of the unknown planet. Everyone on the ship stayed silent as the thick gray clouds listed out of the way, revealing the cracked black surface of the planet. Fissures in the ground belched dark, noxious fumes into the air, the smoke coiling lazily toward the sky.

They landed quietly and all of them filed out into the unknown world, breathing masks latched firmly onto their mouths and noses. Their steps cracked the ground as they walked, Thayne leading the way. He never wavered, never paused to consider the direction, kept going on. The rest followed, Case and Atton glanced at each other now and then in confusion, the same question on both of their minds: how was it that Thayne know where to lead them?

For an hour they hiked across the planet, no words passing between them. Eventually Thayne led them downhill under an over crop of rock. Once totally inside, Thayne pulled off his breath mask and hurried forward. Revan ran after him followed by Case and Atton.

"Thayne!" Revan called, tearing off her mask, "Wait, don't—"

"This is it!" he shouted back to her as he reached a wall with swirling symbols painted across its face in a stain redder than blood. Blue veins zigzagged through the strange wall. "They're here."

"We need to go," Case said urgently as she caught up with the others. Her mind was screaming at her to run.

"Then go," Revan said.

The wall seemed to melt, black ooze coming off in sheets. It hit the floor and began to writhe, expelling a sickening odor. Thayne stepped forward as though unable to help it and reached out.

"No!" Revan shouted leaping forward. A wave of energy slammed into her and forced her back, her feet scraping against the floor as she struggled to keep her footing.

The ooze twined itself around Thayne and dissolved into gas. In a moment it was gone.

Thayne's back was to them, and his stance was relaxed and unperturbed. "_Do you know_," he said slowly, "_How long we have waited for this?_"

"No," Revan murmured, her teeth gritted tightly. The voice came from Thayne and yet Revan knew who was truly speaking.

"_This man has always been one of us. Like you, Revan_," he said, turning. His appeared almost normal but for his eyes; they were black all the way through. "_Only he could not fight us as you did. It seems he lacked the will you possess. No matter. His purpose was to lead you here, and he has served that purpose. Curious how he never questioned his urge to come here; curious that he did not spot us inside of him._"

"Thayne, you ha—"

_"Revan, it is time to end this battle. We grow weary of your warmongering."_

"Then say when and I'll put you out of your misery," she spat.

Revan felt the same pain as before, the pain of knowing the she was Lord Revan and not Shayla; it stung as nothing else could. Thayne felt this too, she knew. But it was as Bastila had once told her, "What greater weapon is there than to turn an enemy to your cause? To use their own knowledge against them." Thayne and she had been used, strung along. And she had let it happen.

Thayne laughed a cruel, terrible laugh, a laugh that was not his own. His hand rose slowly and clenched into a fist. The floor lurched and a wall sprang up, cutting Case and Atton off from Revan and Thayne. Revan heard the others shouting to her; she did not reply. The room was dark now, all but a slant of light that came in from a hole above them; the light was a sickly yellow.

Suddenly Thayne's eyes widened and his breath quickened. "Revan," he said, his voice his own again.

"Yeah, I'm here," she said. Hope bubbled in her abdomen; he was _aware_. That was a very good sign.

"This… I'm… no," he whispered, staring in horror at Revan.

"I'm sorry," she said.

_He will be part of us. Join us and stop this meaningless struggle_. The words were whispered through the air, coming from nowhere.

Thayne yelled as he body was wracked with pain. His muscles strained, threatening to snap as his back arched horribly.

"Stop!" Revan shouted.

_Give in_.

Revan snarled at the hideous shadows clinging to Thayne. "Is that what you want with him?" she demanded, "A body? A host for your twisted souls? Wouldn't mine be better?"

_You're offering_, they said. No question in their tone.

"Yeah, I'm offering. You need a heart? You need a brain? A couple limbs? Go ahead, take mine. Take whatever part of me you need," Revan snapped. She couldn't let Thayne suffer for something that was her fault. He hadn't meant to lead them to this place, and he hadn't meant to die for her.

Amusement oozed from them. If they could laugh, they would have. _You think we want your _body_? It's not strong, Revan. His is stronger. Your _mind_ would be indispensible._

"Have at it."

They remained silent, seething under the dull glow of the red crystals in the ceiling. A though struck Revan squarely in the chest. They had already _tried_ to take her mind. More than once, if she was interpreting correctly. They'd failed.

"Would it work if I willingly let you have me?" she asked.

_No_, they snapped. Their failure made them angry.

Revan knew her body was nothing special. Heck, her connection to the Force was pretty mediocre by anyone's standards. Apparently it was what she had in her head that they wanted.

_You waste your mind. It is a shame. What we could do with it…_ Revan heard the longing in their voices. Suddenly she didn't want them anywhere near her thoughts. If the barest of thoughts she caught from them were correct, then letting them take over her mind would cause more damage than it would solve. But Thayne had to be saved.

"We could try," she said, her mind working quickly.

They hesitated. Thayne's writhing slowed some as they were momentarily distracted. She could feel how the _loved_ the idea of having her. They were starved for it. She knew there would be other marks of their evil in the future, but for now she was what they wanted; she was what they craved.

"But you'd have to let him go first. If it works, I won't be around to make sure you free him."

"No," Thayne snarled.

_No_._ There will be no bargain... But if we succeed, we will kill him quickly. He will feel no pain._

They were lying. They'd keep them both. Revan wondered if they were capable of honesty. The possibility was doubtful at best.

"You think so much of my mental abilities? Fine, trust them. If I say I'll give in to you, believe it."

Amusement again. Revan twitched with irritation.

_You have no more control than your lapdog does. You can guarantee nothing._

And yet they waited. Revan felt hope stir inside her. "I don't think you can pass this up. Kill him and I won't cooperate."

They thought, silent.

"Revan, don't," Thayne ground out. He felt wild panic. She couldn't surrender, she _couldn't_.

"Shut up, Thayne," Revan said.

Then he pulled his ace. "They'll kill Carth." He waited, hoping that whoever Carth was, he was as important to her as Thayne believed. The thought stung him.

Ice flooded Revan's heart. They _would_. Any strong connection her mind might have to a loved one would be destroyed. They wouldn't risk her breaking away from them; they wouldn't let someone she loved go free.

Thayne screamed as they twisted him tighter, torturing him to silence him.

Before she had been banking on them being incapable of controlling her mind; now she feared a mistake. What if it worked? They would use her to kill everything she loved, everything she had worked to save.

_You wish to surrender to us? Very well._

"No," Thayne ground out. He lifted his hand toward Revan, and without knowing how he slid into her mind. Pulling at her memories, he found him, Carth.

Revan's eyes went blind as whatever Thayne had done took control of her. A figure emerged from the darkness. Carth. Revan peered closer. Something was wrong. Then she saw it; his eyes were dull and blank. With horror she realized he was bleeding from a wound the size of a plate in his side. His organs could be seen hanging limply from his corpse. He was dead. They had _killed _him. Insurmountable rage coursed through her system, and she shook with its power.

Revan screamed; it was the scream of one dying and of the living dead. It rocked the walls and tore the ceiling from the room, the metal and rock shrieking as it was wrested from its holdings. The room warped as the walls bent and groaned. The scream echoed across time and space. Thayne knew she would die, and he along with her.

Revan was crouched on the floor, fists pressed tightly to her temples. "CARTH!" she screamed, her pain rending the air.

Thayne watched as Revan's face became pale as chalk. He could see her shaking as she clenched her fists so tightly that the knuckles turned snowy white. Then he released her from the vision, not knowing fully how he had accomplished it. Revan was breathing hard, her eyes tightly shut as she tried to control her rage.

"I'm not leaving you," she said in a whisper.

Thayne felt despair wash over him. "Just go," he pleaded. Before Revan could answer, he was once again beset with agonizing pain. His eyes rolled back into his head as he crashed to the floor, nearly losing consciousness. Breath trapped in his chest, he could hear the angry hiss of the things trying to control him. After a moment the pain dulled enough for him to breathe once again.

_Let go_, they whispered in his ear.

* * *

Ah. The penultimate chapter is complete. On to the last one! (that makes me sad...). I want to thank the reviewers who have taken an interest in my story, especially the ones who have stuck with me the ENTIRE way. So thanks.

Sarcasm Turtle -- Once again, thanks so much for being my 100th review! It means a lot. Yeah, I love Atton too. But for me, Carth is my #1! Which begs the question why didn't I include him. The answer? I was afraid to mangle his character. And my brain ran with the story before I could catch up. :) I hope to hear from you on the last chapter.

Crystal Cat X -- Thanks. I always find kisses to be very awkward to write. I mean, it's not an easy experience to convey, is it? Yeah, I thought she seemed like the processed food kind of person. If she lived in our world, she'd be that overachiever who also has fun, is brilliant, and can eat whatever and stay fit as a fiddle.

Angie On Ice -- Yeah, that was a strange scene for me. I did it when I woke up one morning. Go figure.

me -- Thanks, dude.

DanceOfWords -- Wow, that's a really nice review. See, it's for reviews like that that I write these chapters, so thanks.

shoelacesonmyhead -- It's the end you feel, my young padawan. Okay, no more corny Star Wars jokes. I'm enough of a geek already, eh? :) Thanks for sticking with me so long.

* * *

Oh, and sorry if this seems rushed, but... well, it is. If I don't do this now, it'll never happen. It feels like my brain is on fire! It's calling the quits on this story. Lousy cranium...


	16. Breakable

Well, this is it. This is the end. All I want to do is say goodbye to my audience. You guys have been awesome, every single one of you. Though this chapter was kind of hurried on my part, I hope you all like it. This chapter is dedicated to all of my reviewers.

Thank you: Jax Solo, for being my first reviewer, and sharinganavenger for being so enthusiastic. I probably kept going because of you guys at the beginning there. Thanks to greengrass1914, Emalin, Junyi the Shadow, Harabael, CrystalCatX, 1x1pEngUIn89, Mindy233, me (the reviewer, not myself), angiebaby, DanceOfWords, skywalker05 (you gave great critique), The Outlander (your reviews were spectacular, as are you) Shenene392, Paladin of Farore (you reviewed anyway, and I think that's absolutely brilliant!), shoelacesonmyhead, 6tailedninja, qt3.14159, Diaz Rivaut, Lilliwyn, Suliac Griffin (yes, I'm quite insane, and we're insane together, I imagine), Blatant0, BananaLollipop7, Sharon'sWorldSign, Revan Dante, K.L. Clarion, Angie On Ice, DennisK, general-joseph-dickson, and last but certainly not least, Sarcasm Turtle (you were my 100th review! Thank you!). You all have been so great to me. I appreciate your time and input more than you know!

And special thanks to those who have stuck with me through practically every chapter. You know who you are. ;)

Last, as Kreia said, "Always, there are more questions." If you do have questions, ask them in a review and I'll answer you. Or you can PM me. Don't be shy, I love questions about anything!

* * *

Chapter Fifteen – Breakable

XxX

_"__They will die a death that will last millennia, until all that remains is their code, their history, and, in the end, the shell of their armor upon the shell of a man, too easily slain by Jedi." ―Darth Traya_

_"__Revan left a lot of people who cared about him behind. But I think he did it because he thought it was the right thing to do. But whatever he set out to do, I… I don't think he succeeded."―Carth Onasi_

"_No_!" Thayne shouted, hands clutching at his head. His skull strained, threatening to crack open.

_There is no fighting this. You were never your own, little puppet_. _Did you not wonder why you met Revan in so remote a place? It was us. _You_ are to bring about her downfall.

* * *

  
_

"Get out of my head!" he screamed.

"Thayne!"

He looked up, eyes bloodshot, to see her standing in front of him. Her hair was flowing in the waves of energy flying around the room radiating from her. Her eyes burned like fire as she stood there, feet set apart, arms at her sides, and her saber in one hand ready to be used. Pain rippled through his body as the Sith resumed sucking him into them.

"No!" Revan yelled, springing forward.

Thayne echoed her yell, feeling his arm stretch out in front of him. In horror, he watched his fingers extend toward her. Revan's face registered shock and pain as an invisible wave slammed into her and drove her into the stone ground. The rock cracked as she was pushed into it, her cry echoing off the walls.

"Revan!" Thayne called out, shaking with the effort of fighting them out of his mind.

_You care for her. It will kill her. It will kill _you_. Can you taste the delicious irony of those fighting their fates? It is an addiction that we cannot resist; she must die, and you will be the one to bring her death. Accept your fate._

Revan struggled to her feet, breathing hard. Her eyes blazed. "I won't let you take him, and I won't let you _anywhere_ near those I love," she said. Her voice was cold and dead as steel.

_Do you not understand?_ they said inside Thayne's head, _If she is one of us once more, there is nothing beyond our reach. In her lies the ability to tap any power, destroy and build. Her potential is limitless; she is power. Not brute strength, but a silent, unstoppable force, an immovable object._

For a moment Thayne saw in his mind what they dreamed of; it was heady and addictive, the feeling of power over anything one desired. Was that how Revan felt, or was she unaware of how important she was? Did she understand just _what_ she was? He doubted it. She could learn anything, understand anyone, become whoever she wanted. She could destroy the galaxy or save it. She had been able to command the Star Forge and live.

Yet there was one almost like her… Case. Case had great power as well, but not like Revan. Case was a part of life and a key part of its fate, but Revan was outside it. She was an observer and a puppet master, not one of the players. She was a catalyst; able to influence the outcome, but not directly part of the reaction. His eyes sought her. Pain struck him when he realized there would be no following Revan. His end had come. He decided that even if it killed him, he would save her.

"You want to see how far down I can sink?" Thayne growled. He gathered his remaining strength.

Thayne yelled and pushed at the invaders of his mind and body. He drove them deep into his mind, trying to drown them in the turmoil beneath his skull. Miraculously, for the moment they were pushed away, fighting the torrent of chaos within him. Perhaps his mind was stronger than they thought.

Thayne hunched over, panting as blood ran from his eyes, nose, and mouth. Pain wracked his body as Revan laid cool hand gently on his shoulder. He didn't look up; if he did, he wouldn't be able hold on. He would lose his mind with the desire to live, to stay with her. And that was no longer possible with what he had become… what he had always been.

"I'm…sorry," she murmured, "I can't…I don't know the right thing to say."

"You…just said it," Thayne said, breathing heavily.

Revan's hand stiffened on his shoulder. He ignored the pain and focused on the feeling of her touching him for the first time, for the last time. He wanted to tell her what he felt, what he knew, what he wanted. But there was no time and no reason anymore. He saw the open abyss stretching ahead of him, waiting to swallow whatever was offered into its ravenous throat. If he died, the galaxy had more time to live.

"You knew," he grated painfully.

"Yes."

"I could have killed you," he nearly yelled, "You should have stopped this when you had the chance!"

She said nothing, remaining unmoved. Realization hit Thayne. "You wanted to save me," he said, "You risked _everything_…to save me."

"So did you."

"No."

"I would have done whatever was needed for y—"

"There was nothing," he snapped, pain twisting his muscles, "There was never anything you could do to save me. It's because of them that I was even born, wasn't it?"

He felt her hand on his face, her touch lighter than a feather. She raised his head until his eyes stared into her burning green irises. There was nothing to say. Everything had been said or no longer had a meaning. He moved forward and wrapped one arm around her waist while the other grabbed her neck and brought her forehead to his. They stayed like that, still as the dead.

"Find my daughter. Keep her safe," he rasped, feeling his throat close up, "Her name is Ven."

"I swear."

Thayne released her and stumbled back. "Get out." He threw himself away from her, his eyes fierce.

Revan cried out at Thayne jumped backward, impaling himself on the large spike protruding from the wall. The head of the spike broke through his chest, spilling blood at his feet. She felt her heart wrenched as his face became rigid with pain. A Moment later his face fell and his eyes closed. She could no longer feel him through the Force.

"Thayne!" she yelled, knowing nothing could bring him back.

Suddenly his body jerked sickly, wrenching itself off of the spike with a stomach twisting, squelch. The body tumbled forward and crashed into the stone floor. Revan leaped back, her eyes locked onto the cadaver. A moment ticked by and it didn't move. She let out a breath she didn't know she held and turned to leave.

Laughter sounded behind her. It was a horrible, gurgling sound that raised the hair all over her body. Revan whipped around and fell into a defensive stance, her saber out and ready to end another life. The body on the floor raised one hand and then another to lift itself from the ground. It slowly arched up until the face – that hideously warped face– could be seen. Horror struck Revan at the sight of the sick perversion of what had once been her friend.

"_You of all people should know_," the body choked out, congealing blood spewing from its mouth, "_That ancient evils do not die_."

"I will kill you," Revan spat, "You should have left him alone."

Revan launched herself off the ground and soared toward the body. It laughed. She swung her lightsaber around, fully anticipating it being blocked. The cadaver reached out, still cackling, and grabbed the saber by the blade. Revan felt herself being yanked and thrown to the ground, the air in her lungs leaving her with a whoosh.

She looked up, horrified. The thing that had once been Thayne leered down at her, its dead eyes full of hatred. In its hand it still held the lightsaber by the blade. Revan could hear the sizzle of burning flesh, and yet its hand remained intact.

"What are you?" she whispered, picking herself off the ground.

"_We are death, Revan. That is something no Jedi can halt. We have taken him, and soon you will be one with us_."

Pain was all Revan's mind registered. White-hot anger raged inside her skull. She felt it then, the power to destroy them. It was lingering just outside her conscious mind. She reached for it. She could feel Atton and Case struggling to come for her, lending her what power they could. Between them, it was enough.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

Everything imploded.

XXXXX

Case yelled in surprise as the wall she had been laboring to destroy was sucked forward as the room collapsed in on itself. She stood silent for a moment, stunned.

"Revan!" she called, rushing forward.

Atton followed, leaping over the piles of rock and metal. He searched the rubble, unable to find a sign of life. With a scowl he reached out with the Force and pulled at the rock, tossing chunks across the room. Case soon joined him, flinging the rubble wildly. After twenty minutes they had sifted through all of it and found no sign of either Revan or Thayne.

"What happened?" Case said, her eyes wide.

"I have no idea," Atton murmured, moving closer to her, wary.

XXXXX

Revan's eyes opened. For a moment all she could see was darkness. But then, slowly, an image began for form. She saw a barren, molten valley and felt her heart stop with the pain of it. What had happened there? Then a thought rushed back to her. Thayne… she felt tired and hurt as she understood he was gone.

Confusion washed over her as she considered her own state of being, trying to understand where she was. A thought flickered against her consciousness. Ah, she was gone too, whatever that meant. She was no longer whatever she had been, at any rate.

She looked around for Thayne for a moment, wondering if he too had been transported to the dead valley, but she saw no sign of anyone else. Revan's feet were rooted to the ground, she could barely feel her body, and her mind felt as though it was made of cotton. Once again she turned her gaze toward barren land before her. She had never seen something so… empty. Then the comprehension began to seep into her.

As she stared, Revan realized that there was never anything she could have done to stop the fall of the Republic or the collapse of the galaxy; everything had to die at some point, though whether something new would rise from the ashes depended on the seeds sewed below the levels of destruction.

She understood, finally. The knowledge let relief wash over her, wiping away her worry. Every few millennia, life would implode in on itself because of Evil and Death: the True Sith, the Power opposing the Force in order to bring balance. And life had to start over from the remnants through the Force. Eventually that would happen to the galaxies Revan had lived in.

Her vision flickered as she saw the end of the life she knew; the end was the valley full of nothing. The vision seemed to stretch for an eternity. And then amidst the darkness, a pinpoint of light; it was blue and beautiful. A name sprung into her mind. _Earth_. It meant very little to her; she knew only what a whisper in her mind told her, that on it there were humans beginning to build civilizations again. She vaguely wondered what had happened to the rest of the races.

She realized that the destruction could not be stopped; it could only delayed sometimes. For some reason, she was one of the only people capable of delaying it, and for some reason the Jedi and Sith had always been used to regulate the timing of the Ends and the Beginnings. Every once in a while, she understood, it chose someone to alter the timing, someone who is the only one capable of changing with the timing, though at a terrible price.

Suddenly, out of nothing, a figure arose. It shattered the dream-like state she had been in. She peered closer. Recognition hit Revan like a rogue speeder; it was _orange_. She found her legs and ran.

XXXXX

Light years away, Carth Onasi fell into a deep sleep, his body draped over his chair, allowing the viscous darkness of sleep to swallow him. His brown hair draped over his eyes, tickling the bridge of his nose. For once he was wearing his orange pilot's jacket instead of his Admiral's coat. The pain of the past that accompanied it usually made him avoid it, but tonight was different somehow.

A hazy shade of sleep drifted over him, and then he sank until he hit rock bottom. He was on his feet in some strange place. A familiar figure ran toward him, calling out to him. His heart sped up as he ran to meet the figure, desperate to reach it. And then he realized why; it was _her_. He yelled to her, calling her name.

"Carth!" she responded, breaking into a run.

He sprinted as fast as he could. When his arms found her, he felt the tension and pain of the last years melt away into nothing. None of that mattered when she was with him. He murmured her name as he pulled her against his chest, determined never to release her. "Revan," he said again. She had come back to him.

"Thank you for sending Case," Revan murmured, tucking her head under his chin, "I never could have done this without her."

"Of course," he said, not knowing or caring about what she meant. She was with him, where she belonged.

"I love you. I love you so much I think it might kill me," she whispered.

He holds her tighter and strokes her shoulder blade, trembling with the relief of having her, with the fear of losing her. "I love you too," he said to her, "I love you."

"Carth…" she said, her tone changing.

His heart jerked painfully. He knew what that tone meant.

"I can't stay. I couldn't stop it… I lost. I thought I would succeed, but…"

"No," he said forcefully, holding her tighter against him.

Suddenly he knew that there was no keeping her. If he tried to hold on, he would lose her anyway, and the pain would destroy them both. The realization was a fire, and it scorched every part of him. His heart was bitten with the heat of that fire; it felt as if it was dying. Burying his pain, Carth breathed in her scent, committing every last part of her to memory. That would be the one place she would always exist.

"If I forget you…" Revan said slowly, terrified. Her eyes were wild with desperation.

Carth leaned down and pressed his mouth to hers, his hands firmly holding her shoulders. Revan kissed him back with urgency, her hands touching his face as though she would break him if she wasn't too careful.

"It doesn't matter," he murmured against her mouth, "I'll always know you."

"I—I can't…I need…" Revan stuttered, her hands clutching at his shoulders, green eyes seeing a future that terrified her. Suddenly she chuckled; it was a horrible, painful chuckle. "It doesn't matter what I want."

"Nothing matters more to me," Carth murmured, kissing her forehead as he took her hands in his. He shook terribly as he felt himself losing her again. It would be the straw that broke him, and he would gladly welcome the end when it came for him.

"How can I…? Without you…there's nothing left anymore," she whispered. Her eyes brimmed with pain. "So I guess it doesn't matter after all. Please, don't…fade away, Carth. Find something that makes you really happy, or at least content. Go after it and don't let go. Don't let my end be yours."

"Revan…" He cut himself off. She didn't understand that no matter what, he would go after her her where she went, for how could he let her go and not try to follow? Not again. This time he would try, not matter what. And if he had to lose her, he would look for her until there was nothing left of him.

He felt himself break, damaged beyond repair. Carth watched Revan turn slowly, ready to walk away from him toward oblivion. And he hated it all; he hated life, death, and the Force with everything inside of him, but that hate was quelled by the hope and longing he had for her. Carth watched as Revan's face became pale as slag. He could see her trembling as she clenched her fists so tightly that blood began to seep from her fingers. She slipped away from him, and he could not catch her again. It was as if she was nothing more than smoke. Inside him a cry rose to deafening heights, screaming to stop her. Impossible.

Revan felt herself shatter. Walking away from him drove a knife deeper into her than could ever be removed. And she understood, then, how Kreia had so hated the Force; Revan wanted to hate it, but the farther she got from him, the less she was herself. With every step she took, more was erased. She felt herself going, slowly being pulled apart until there was not enough left.

A shroud dropped over her, covering her in a lethean haze, a haze of forgetfulness. All at once her senses were snuffed out. She panicked, trying to break free. She couldn't feel herself, she couldn't move. There was nothing around her and nothing in her. Revan felt her thoughts begin to fade, for with nothing to hold onto, they were no good. She panicked as the void pulled her in, farther and farther away from… what was it that she had been holding on to so tightly? She couldn't remember. Why was she so desperate?

On thought gripped like steel: _I'm still here… I'm still here… I'm still… I'm… I…_

Another voice invaded, one that made her afraid: _Let go_. There was nothing to hold on to.

And Revan fell. As applause dies after a performance, so Revan faded into nothing.

XXXXX

Carth Onasi had not slept for a month. That dream he'd had was so real to him, and yet he couldn't let himself truly believe that Revan was gone. That would kill him. Every day he watched for news of Revan's return, some hint that she was still on her way back to him. Hope kept him alive to wait for her, to feel desperately afraid that he would hear nothing.

A sudden knock at his door nearly sent him through the roof. He quickly rose from his seat and called, "Come in."

The door slid open and revealed a figure clothed in a dark robe. The hood fell and was surprised to see the face of Case Roanoke. His heart banged painfully against his ribs.

Case nodded to him, her face bleak. "Admiral Onasi," she said.

Carth's heart plummeted to his feet. The dream…

"Revan?" he asked, his voice breaking.

Case did not move from the doorway. She shook her head almost imperceptibly.

XXXXX

As they walked, Case felt the despair crash in on her, threatening to drown her under its dark waves. In desperation, she reached out and slid her hand into Atton's. He looked down at her, surprised. After a moment he turned back to carefully weaving between the throngs of people and gave her hand a gentle squeeze; he understood as no one else could ever understand. He kept her close to him, watching out for any threats, knowing she was not aware as normal.

When they approached the Telos transportation desk, Case released Atton's hand. He gave her a quick smile as he turned toward the registrations desk. They were on their way back to see Mical and the new Jedi Academy. They had just come from paying Admiral Onasi a visit. He deserved to know, Case had told herself. But she feared how the Admiral would go on. He had seemed like the walking dead after she had told him Revan was gone. She had left without a word of goodbye to him, knowing he would not have heard her. May the Force be with him, she thought to herself.

With a sigh, Case moved over to an empty corner to escape the throng of people vying for ships. It seemed business on Telos had improved drastically since her last visit. But still, she hoped they would be going soon; her memories were starting to catch up. Revan and Thayne were gone, and she had no idea where or why. There had been no evidence of bodies, but despite that she could no longer feel them through the Force. However, she conceded, no one could feel Case Roanoke either. They could still be alive… and yet she did not believe it.

She winced and tried to focus on something else. Her thoughts turned to Atton and her eyes sought him. He was at a ticket booth, his face relaxed as he bargained with the teller. What would she have done if he had been taken as well? Case shivered and wrapped her hands around her elbows, feeling a fierce protectiveness surge within her. They couldn't have him, she told herself.

This thought was accompanied by surprise; she had never felt like that about anyone. For years she had been totally alone. Her whole life she had been a solo act. And before Peragus, she had liked it that way.

Unexpectedly, someone shouldered Case from the side. She glanced up to see a young woman, probably about nineteen or twenty, with cropped blonde hair. The woman was being followed by the oldest, most unstable droid Case had ever laid eyes on. Its processor was on the _outside_ for crying out loud.

The blonde girl mumbled an apology and continued shoving her way through the crowd, seeming indifferent to the curses of the people she ran into. She seemed to be in a hurry. For a moment longer the girl lingered in Case's thoughts, but all recollection of the girl was tossed aside when Atton returned with their visas.

"Ready to go?"

Case smiled sadly. "More than ever."

THE END

* * *

"_My time here is ended. Take what I have taught you and use it well._"

―Darth Revan


End file.
